India-China 15th round border crisis talks on Friday
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An army jawan on guard at Ladakh, Image credit: PTI
New Delhi: India and China are holding the 15th round of border talks, high-level military dialogue, on Friday as an effort to end a 22-month long standoff in eastern Ladakh, PTI reported.
The last talks in January have not yielded any significant understanding, PTI says.
The lastest Corps-Commander talks were scheduled to commence at 10 in the morning at the Chushul-Moldo border point within the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), sources informed.
The focus of the talks would be on the failed disengagements in the Hot Springs areas. India expects a quicker disengagement in all the remaining stations where friction continues and resolutions on issues in areas including Depsang Bulge and Demchok. The Indian delegation is led by Lt Gen Anindya Sengupta, who recently took Commander's office of the 14 Corps based in Leh.
After the 14th round talks, a joint statement was released, which said, "The two sides agreed to stay in close contact and maintain dialogue via military and diplomatic channels and work out a mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues at the earliest."
The eastern Ladakh border crisis started after Indian and Chinese forces ended up in a violent clash on May 5, 2020, at the Pangong lake areas.
Both sides deployed heavy forces as well as weaponry. Later, after a series of diplomatic talks, the two sides disengaged troops from the areas of the north and south banks of Pangong lake in Gogra. However, there are 50,000 to 60,000 troops still deployed in the sensitive area by both sides.