New Delhi: The 18th round of talks held on Sunday, April 23, between the senior commanders of the Indian Army and China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) failed to achieve any progress on the reversal of Chinese border ingress on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. The discussion in the meeting was centred around disengagement at Depsang plains, where the PLA has blocked Indian forces from accessing at least five patrolling points since 2020.
There was no progress on disengagement in the previous round of talks between senior commanders that were held in December 2022. A Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) diplomatic meeting between the two sides was held in Beijing in February which agreed on the 18th round of meeting.
A statement issued today by the ministry of external affairs stated that the two sides had a frank and in-depth discussion on the resolution of the relevant issues along the LAC in the Western Sector so as to restore peace and tranquillity in the border areas, which will enable progress in bilateral relations. Unlike earlier, this was not a joint statement issued by both countries.
“In the interim, the two sides agreed to maintain the security and stability on the ground in the western sector. The two sides agreed to stay in close contact and maintain dialogue through military and diplomatic channels and work out a mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues at the earliest,” the statement added.
Chinese defence minister Li Shangfu will be in Delhi for a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation on April 27-28 hosted by defence minister Rajnath Singh. Singh is expected to hold bilateral talks with Li on the sidelines of the meeting, where hopes of any progress on the vexed issue are now pinned.
The crisis on the LAC in eastern Ladakh has continued since the summer of 2020, where Indian security forces are unable to access at least 26 of the 65 patrolling points. This was stated by the Leh SP in a paper presented at a high-level meeting this January attended by PM Narendra Modi, home minister Amit Shah and national security advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval.
After the crisis began on the border, there has been disengagement at the north bank and south bank of Pangong Lake, Kailash Range, Gogra-Hot Spring and Kugrang Valley by creating buffer zones separating the two forces. However, the Chinese side has refused to undertake any disengagement at Depsang or Demchok, the two areas where soldiers of both sides continue to block each other.
The Chinese side has also refused to discuss the Indian proposal of de-escalation from the areas where disengagement has taken place. The Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson in Beijing had rejected any demand for a return to status quo ante, blaming the Indian side for the current situation.
The Modi government has blocked all questions and discussion in parliament on the subject. PM Modi has issued no statement on the situation since June 19, 2020 when he claimed that no Chinese soldier had entered Indian territory. This was four days after 20 Indian soldiers died at the hands of the PLA in Galwan.