India, China militaries continue talks to ease heightened border tensions

The military delegate talks have been happening continuously since September 7 when Chinese’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) made a provocative move to occupy Indian territories at the Line of Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh and it was thwarted by Indian Army forces.

India then carried out pre-emptive actions to occupy Rezang La, Rechen La, Blacktop, Goswami Hill, and other height features near Chushul to pre-empt the Chinese army activities going on there.

The Chinese have made multiple attempts to dislodge Indian troops from mountain heights.

The Brigade Commander level meeting is happening in Chushul and has remained inconclusive so far. A senior Indian Army officer said that the talks will eventually ease tensions and it is a tedious process.

In Delhi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a crucial meeting with Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Bipin Rawat and NSA Ajit Doval along with the service chiefs over the ongoing situation.

The meeting came a day after External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, held crucial talks in Moscow to resolve the prolonged border standoff.

The Defence Minister’s meeting with the service chiefs lasted for about two hours in which Foreign Minister Jaishankar’s meeting with his counterpart and the mechanism to resolve the border tension was deliberated upon.

On Thursday, the two countries had agreed on a five-point plan for resolving the prolonged border face-off in eastern Ladakh. The plan included abiding by all existing agreements and protocol on management of the frontier, maintaining peace and tranquility and avoiding any action that could escalate matters.

India and China are engaged in a four-month-long standoff at the LAC in Eastern Ladakh. Despite several levels of dialogue, there has not been any breakthrough and the deadlock continues.

–IANS<br>sk/ash