India, China agree to go for more military talks

NEW DELHI: After the LAC disengagement talks between senior commanders last month ended on a sour note with both sides blaming each other for the continued deadlock, India and China were back on the dialogue table Thursday with another round of diplomatic talks to resolve the situation in eastern Ladakh.
The 23rd meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) saw India seeking early and complete disengagement from all friction points along the LAC in the western sector and the two sides agreeing to have another round of military talks soon. There was no sign of any breakthrough though with both India and China reiterating their respective positions in separate statements after what was the 9th meeting of WMCC since the Galwan incident last year. The Chinese readout also didn't mention complete disengagement even as it spoke about efforts to settle the remaining issue and to shift from "urgent dispute settlement" to regular border management and control.
They recalled the agreement between foreign minister S Jaishankar and his counterpart Wang Yi during their meeting in September in Dushanbe that military and diplomatic officials of the two sides should continue their discussions to resolve the remaining issues along the LAC in eastern Ladakh. Accordingly, India said in its readout, the two sides had candid and in-depth discussions on the situation along the LAC in western sector of India-China border areas and also reviewed the developments since the last meeting of the senior commanders of both sides last month.
"In this regard they agreed on the need to find an early resolution to the remaining issues along the LAC in eastern Ladakh while fully abiding by bilateral agreements and protocols so as to restore peace and tranquility. The two sides also agreed that both sides should in the interim also continue to ensure a stable ground situation and avoid any untoward incident," said the government.
"It was agreed that both sides should hold the next (14th) round of the Senior Commanders meeting at an early date to achieve the objective of complete disengagement from all the friction points along the LAC in the Western Sector in accordance with the existing bilateral agreements and protocols," it added.
According to China, both sides called for continuous efforts to further de-escalate the border situation, and said they would strive to shift from "urgent dispute settlement to regular management and control at an early date".
"Both sides agreed to maintain dialogue and communication through diplomatic and military channels, actively prepare for the 14th round of Senior Commanders Meeting, and make efforts to settle the remaining issues in the western sector of the China-India border," said China in its statement.
"The two sides had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on the recent developments in the China-India border areas, and agreed to consolidate the existing outcomes of the disengagement, strictly abide by the agreements and protocols and the consensus reached between the two sides, prevent the situation on the ground from relapsing," it added.
After the last round of military talks, the government had accused China of ignoring India's "constructive suggestions" and not coming up with any forward-looking proposal.