NEW DELHI: Indian and Chinese armies on Saturday held high-level military talks with a “positive” approach, signalling an intent to end their month-long bitter standoff in mountainous eastern Ladakh through peaceful dialogue, people aware of the development said.
The Indian delegation was led by Lt General Harinder Singh, the general officer commanding of Leh-based 14 Corps, while the Chinese side was headed by the Commander of the Tibet Military District.
“The talks were held in a positive atmosphere. The approach (by both sides) was positive,” a senior military official said on condition of anonymity.
It is learnt that the Indian delegation at the marathon talks pressed for restoration of status quo ante in all the sensitive areas along the Line of Actual Control besides seeking withdrawal of additional Chinese troops from the region.
The talks at the Border Personnel Meeting Point in Maldo on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control in Chushul sector was scheduled to begin around 8:30 AM, but were deferred by over three hours due to bad weather in the high-altitude region, sources said.
They said the Indian delegation was warmly greeted by senior officials of the Chinese Army before the talks began.
Neither the Army nor the Ministry of External Affairs provided any details about the much-anticipated talks.
Without specifically mentioning about the talks, an Indian Army Spokesperson said: “Indian and Chinese officials continue to remain engaged through the established military and diplomatic channels to address the current situation in the India-China border areas.”
The Lt General-level dialogue took place after 12 rounds of talks between local commanders of the two armies and three rounds of discussions at the level of major general-rank officials could not produce any tangible outcome, the sources said.
They said India was not expecting any “concrete outcome” from the meeting, but considers it important as the high-level military dialogue could pave the way for a negotiated settlement of the tense standoff.
Saturday’s talks also came a day after the two countries held diplomatic talks during which both sides agreed to handle their “differences” through peaceful discussions. (PTI)
