Senior military commanders of India and China held a fresh round of talks on Sunday with an aim to ensure expeditious disengagement of troops from all the friction points along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh.
It was the fifth round of commander-level talks in nearly two months with an aim to defuse the border tensions triggered by a violent clash between the two militaries in Pangong Tso area in eastern Ladakh in May. The previous round of talks took place on 14 July and lasted for nearly 15 hours.
As far as Sunday’s talks are concerned, reports claimed Indian side insisted on total withdrawal of Chinese troops from the Finger areas in Pangong Tso at the earliest besides completing the disengagement process on a couple of other friction points.
It is said Indian side had conveyed a very clear message to the Chinese army that the status quo ante must be restored in eastern Ladakh and it will have to follow all mutually agreed protocols for border management to bring back peace and tranquillity in the area.
India also apprised China about the ‘red lines’ and conveyed that the onus was largely on China to improve the overall situation in the region. The Chinese military has pulled back from Galwan Valley and certain other friction points but the withdrawal of troops has not moved forward from the Finger areas in Pangong Tso as demanded by India, reports said.
India has been insisting that China must withdraw its forces from areas between Finger Four and Eight. The mountain spurs in the area are referred to as Fingers. The two super powers of Asia should remain as friends and the talks held on Friendship Day should pave way for it.