Senior military officials of India and China have concluded their six-day marathon talks to resolve long-pending issues in Depsang Pains and Demchok sector.
The Major General-level talks concluded on a day Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Africa’s Johannesburg on the sidelines of the BRICS summit and the two leaders spoke on the border issue.
A government source told ANI, “The two sides concluded the six-day-long talks today after wide-ranging discussions on resolving issues pending for many years.”
Both the armies will now seek instructions from their senior leadership on the talks and will take a final decision soon. So far it looks like the result could be positive, sources said.
He said that there is also a possibility of senior-level talks between the two sides in the near future.
Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra told the media in Johannesburg that Prime Minister Modi in his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping highlighted India’s concerns on the unresolved issues along the LAC in the western sector of the India-China border areas.
“The Prime Minister underlined that maintaining peace and tranquility in the border areas and respecting the LAC is essential for the normalization of India-China relations,” he said.
In this regard, the Foreign Secretary said, the two leaders agreed to instruct their “concerned authorities to intensify efforts for early disengagement and de-escalation”.
Indian and Chinese troops held Major General level talks at two locations including Daulat Beg Oldie and Chushul sector and started the talks on 19 August.
India and China held the 19th round of Corps Commander level talks at the Chushul-Moldo meeting point on the Indian side earlier this month.
The Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement that the two sides had positive, constructive and in-depth discussions on the resolution of outstanding issues along the LAC in the western sector.
“In line with the guidance given by the leadership, they exchanged views in an open and forward-looking manner. They agreed to expeditiously resolve the remaining issues and maintain the momentum of dialogue and negotiations through military and diplomatic channels,” the statement said. “In the interim, both sides agreed to maintain peace on the ground in the border areas,” it said.
The Chinese military’s actions have led to the withdrawal of troops from some friction points along the LAC in eastern Ladakh following the standoff between India and China in April 2020.
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