India, China likely to hold Corps Commander-level talks over LAC standoff on Jan 12

To resolve the ongoing standoff on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China, New Delhi is likely to hold the 14th round of the Corps Commander level talks with Beijing on January 12 to find a peaceful resolution to the matter, ANI reported. Lt General Anindya Sengupta, the Indian Army's 14 'Fire and Fury' Corps Commander, would be representing the country in negotiations with the Chinese side for the first time.

According to government sources, the 14th round of India-China negotiations will take place on January 12 and will focus on resolving the Hot Springs issue, which remains the only major point of contention between the two countries.

To resolve the deadlock, India and China have held 13 rounds of discussions over the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh in 2021. Following a deadly skirmish in Ladakh's Pangong Tso lake area, the Indian and Chinese troops dwelled in a standoff along the eastern border in May 2020. Both sides, then, gradually increased their military deployments by bringing in tens of thousands of troops as well as heavy weapons. Tensions rose after a violent confrontation in the Galwan Valley in June last year, which claimed the lives of 20 Indian soldiers.

MEA snubs reports of Chinese constructions; reproves Beijing for propaganda video

Notably, the development comes a day after the Ministry Of External Affairs countered reports claiming that the Chinese are constructing a bridge near Pangong Tso in Ladakh and clarified that it was monitoring the Chinese bridge construction near Pangong Tso. MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi stated that the bridge was being constructed in areas that had been under China's illegal occupation for six decades. He also affirmed India's commitment to the development of border infrastructure in the region. 

"As regards reports about a bridge being made by the Chinese side on Pangong lake, the Government has been monitoring this activity closely. This bridge is being constructed in areas that have been under illegal occupation by China for around 60 years now. As you are well aware India has never accepted such illegal occupation," said the MEA spokesperson.

Recently, China has launched a propaganda video against India projecting the parts of Galwan Valley as its occupied territory by raising their national flag there, the Indian government had retorted strongly to the Chinese claims and had quashed their agenda. It was later revealed, after social media users pointed out, that the video was staged and Chinese actors were seen posing as PLA soldiers.  

Additionally, the Ministry of External Affairs countered doctored videos of Chinese soldiers in Galwan on New Year saying that they were "not factually correct".  It also snubbed a letter by a Chinese diplomat to Indian parliamentarians asking them to not raise Galwan saying that the substance, tone, and tenor of the letter was inappropriate.

"India is a vibrant democracy. China should take note and should refrain from hyping normal parliamentary activities," MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi stated. 

(Image: PTI/ANI)