India, China militaries continue talks to ease border tensions

In the midst of growing tensions on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), another Brigade-Commander level talks were held in Chushul to resolve the issue. It is to be noted that the military delegate talks have been taking place continuously since September 7 to ease heightened border tensions.

New Delhi: Military commanders of India and China sat down for another round of talks on Friday aimed at defusing heightened tensions along the south bank of Pangong Tso, which erupted after the Indian Army pre-empted intrusions by Chinese troops on August 29-31.

The Brigade-Commander level talks were held in Chushul, Ladakh. According to Indian Army sources, the meeting started at 11 am and ended around 3 pm.

The military delegate talks have been taking place continuously since September 7 to ease heightened border tensions.

India then carried out pre-emptive actions to occupy Rezang La, Rechen La, Blacktop, Goswami Hill, and other height features near Chushul to pre-empt the Chinese army activities going on there.

The Chinese have made multiple attempts to dislodge Indian troops from mountain heights.

In Delhi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a crucial meeting with Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Bipin Rawat and NSA Ajit Doval along with the service chiefs over the ongoing situation.

The meeting came a day after External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, held crucial talks in Moscow to resolve the prolonged border standoff.

The Defence Minister's meeting with the service chiefs lasted for about two hours in which Foreign Minister Jaishankar's meeting with his counterpart and the mechanism to resolve the border tension was deliberated upon.

On Thursday, the two countries had agreed on a five-point plan for resolving the prolonged border face-off in eastern Ladakh.

The plan included abiding by all existing agreements and protocol on management of the frontier, maintaining peace and tranquillity and avoiding any action that could escalate matters.

India and China are engaged in a four-month-long standoff at the LAC in Eastern Ladakh. Despite several levels of dialogue, there has not been any breakthrough and the deadlock continues.

(With inputs from IANS)