New Delhi: The long-standing standoff between India and China over the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh will likely remain an unsettled issue as the Commander level meets held on Sunday concluded without making any headway.
The 13th round of talks between Commanders of both sides focused on resolving the remaining issues related to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. While the Indian side blamed China's unilateral decision to change the status quo, which is, in turn, a violation of the bilateral agreements, China said that India should cherish the hard-won situation.
The Indian Army statement on the debacle said that the Chinese side was not agreeable to the constructive proposals the Indian side had put forwarded to resolve the remaining issues and there was the absence of prospects for future engagement from China.
"The Indian side pointed out that the situation along the LAC had been caused by unilateral attempts of Chinese side to alter the status quo and in violation of the bilateral agreements. It was therefore necessary that the Chinese side take appropriate steps in the remaining areas so as to restore peace and tranquillity along the LAC in the Western Sector," the statement said.
However, the Army made it clear that the talks concluded on the agreement of maintaining communications to ensure stability on the ground. The Army also expressed its hope of China maintaining the overall perspective of bilateral relations and will work towards early resolution of the remaining issues while fully abiding by bilateral agreements and protocols.
China also confirmed the failure of the talks by blaming India's insistence on unreasonable and unrealistic demands, adding difficulties to the negotiations. A Chinese Ministry statement on the talks said that India was reluctant to proposals to promote the easing and cooling of the border situation and fully demonstrated China's sincerity of maintaining overall interests of bilateral military relations.
Tensions along the LAC border flared up following the deadly border battle in June last year in the strategically important Galwan river valley in Ladakh in which several soldiers on both sides were killed. Afterwards, the world's two most populous nations strengthened the high-altitude region in the Himalayas with poured tens of thousands of extra troops.