8th round of talks candid, constructive, say Indian, Chinese armies

The eighth round of military talks on the Ladakh standoff with the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) was candid, in-depth and constructive, the Indian Army said on Sunday, amid no signs of a concrete breakthrough on disengagement of troops in the high-altitude region.

In a joint statement, the two armies said it was agreed to earnestly implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries and ensure that the frontline troops exercise restraint and avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation.

The statement released both in Beijing and New Delhi said both sides agreed to maintain dialogue and communication through military and diplomatic channels, and take forward the discussions for the settlement of outstanding issues.

The Indian Army and China's PLA held the eighth round of talks in Chushul on the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh on Friday.

The talks lasted for around 10-and-half hours.

At the talks, the two armies also agreed to have another round of meeting soon.

The statement said the two sides had a candid, in-depth and constructive exchange of views on disengagement along the LAC in the Western Sector of India-China border areas.

'Both sides agreed to earnestly implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, ensure their frontline troops exercise restraint and avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation,' the statement said.

'Both sides agreed to maintain dialogue and communication through military and diplomatic channels, and, taking forward the discussions at this meeting, push for the settlement of other outstanding issues, so as to jointly maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas,' it added.

Government sources said the Indian Army, at the talks, strongly insisted on early disengagement of troops by China from all the friction points in eastern Ladakh, adding there was no breakthrough on the resolution of the row.

Nearly 50,000 Indian Army troops are currently deployed in a high state of combat readiness in various mountainous locations in eastern Ladakh in sub-zero conditions as multiple rounds of talks between the two sides have not yielded concrete outcome to resolve the standoff.

China has also deployed an equal number of troops, according to officials.

The standoff between the two sides erupted in early May.

Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat on Friday said India will not accept any shifting of the LAC, and noted that the possibility of transgressions and confrontations on the border spiralling into a larger conflict cannot be ruled out.

The Indian delegation at the eighth round of military talks was led by Lieutenant General P G K Menon, the newly-appointed Commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps.

Naveen Srivastava, Joint Secretary (East Asia) in the Ministry of External Affairs, was also part of the Indian delegation.

At the seventh round of talks too, both sides had agreed to maintain dialogue and communication through military and diplomatic channels to arrive at a mutually acceptable solution for disengagement 'as early as possible'.

India has all along been maintaining that the onus is on China to carry forward the process of disengagement and de-escalation at the friction points in the mountainous region.

Following the sixth round of military talks, the two sides announced a slew of decisions including not to send more troops to the frontline, refrain from unilaterally changing the situation on the ground and avoid taking any actions that may further complicate matters.

The sixth round was held with a specific agenda of exploring ways to implement a five-point agreement reached between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi at a meeting in Moscow on September 10 on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation(SCO) conclave.

The pact included measures like quick disengagement of troops, avoiding action that could escalate tensions, adherence to all agreements and protocols on border management and steps to restore peace along the LAC.

When asked about the six-month-long military standoff, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said at a media briefing on Friday that both sides continue to maintain close communication at the military and diplomatic levels to achieve complete disengagement along the LAC.