LAC standoff: Talks fail yet again, deadlock persists

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 8

Talks between senior military commanders of India and China yet again failed to break the stalemate over war-like deployment by both sides across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh.

Both sides have amassed over 50,000 troops each, besides missiles, tanks, long-range artillery guns, air-defence systems and fighter jets along the LAC.

A corps commander-level meeting was held at Chushul on the Indian side on November 6 and it failed to break the deadlock. An official statement on Sunday morning said: "Both sides agreed to maintain dialogue 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 in border areas." They also agreed to have another round of meeting soon.

Sources said the continuing disagreement was over the timeline to be followed for disengagement. The two countries don't have demarcated boundary and the present positions, especially those south of Pangong Tso, are vital for India to dominate the Chinese positions.

This was the eighth round of talks since June 6 and the last substantive positive step that emerged was during the 6th round of meeting in September when the two sides agreed not to add more troops at the standoff site.

"The two sides had a candid, in-depth and constructive exchange of views on disengagement," a statement of the Indian Ministry of Defence said.