Top military, political leadership to discuss way ahead in Ladakh

Against the backdrop of multiple firing incidents on the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh, top political and national security brass are likely to meet on Friday to discuss the way forward on the ongoing conflict with China on the border.

The top political and national security brass including military leaders are scheduled to meet on Friday to discuss the situation all along the China border from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh, government sources told ANI.

The participants would include senior ministers dealing with the situation along with the senior military leadership, they said.

The leadership is likely to discuss the Chinese military activities in Doklam and other areas on Bhutanese soil along with the Indian preparations to deal with the situation.

The meeting will also discuss the delay in the Corps Commander level talks which was agreed upon in the diplomatic talks between both sides in Russia.

The Chinese and Indian corps commanders were supposed to restart their parleys after a long gap.

The first five rounds of talks had failed to gain any significant results for disengagement at friction points as the Chinese continue to not only sit at Finger 4 but have also fortified their presence there.

The Chinese response to the strong Indian stance on the Chinese aggression in Eastern Ladakh is also likely to come up for discussion by the leadership.

The leaders had discussed the situation on the Chinese buildup in Bhutan recently where the People's Liberation Army has amassed troops and weaponry for quite some time now.

India and China have been engaged in a territorial conflict since April-May timeframe as the Chinese Army transgressed into multiple areas from the Galwan valley to the Finger area along the Pangong lake.

India has also now taken a hard military stance and deployed around 45,000 troops along with elements of armoured divisions.