Ladakh clashes: India and China military talks positive, mutual consensus to disengage, say reports
This is the second rounds of talks between the two countries. The consensus was breached during a ‘de-escalation process’ on June 15 in Galwan Valley.
The Army on Tuesday said that there was a “mutual consensus to disengage” at the second round of Corps Commander level talks between India and China after the June 15 clashes at Galwan Valley in Ladakh, PTI reported.
The first round of Corps Commander talks was held on June 6, but the agreement was violated on June 15 during the “de-escalation” process, resulting in the death of at least 20 Indian soldiers in the worst violence on the border since 1975.
The nearly 11-hour-long meeting on Monday was held in a “cordial, positive and constructive atmosphere” and it was decided that modalities for disengagement from all areas in eastern Ladakh will be taken forward by both New Delhi and Beijing, officials told the news agency. “There was a mutual consensus to disengage.”
The meeting was held at Moldo on the Chinese side opposite Chushul sector in eastern Ladakh, according to News18. The Indian side was led by Lieutenant General Harinder Singh, General Officer Commanding of the Leh based 14 Corps and the Chinese side by Major General Liu Lin to resolve the escalating tensions between both sides.
Meanwhile, Army chief Manoj Naravane is scheduled to visit Ladakh later on Tuesday to speak with the troops on the ground, reports said.
Earlier in the day, Congress President Sonia Gandhi accused the Narendra Modi government of mishandling the crisis on the border with China. She said it is an “undeniable fact” that several “brazen transgressions” have occurred along the Line of Actual Control since April.
On Monday, Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be “mindful” of the implications his statements will have on national security and not allow them to vindicate the Chinese position. However, hours later BJP President JP Nadda attacked Singh, saying his statement on the Ladakh clashes was “mere wordplay” and accused the Congress of questioning and demoralising the armed forces of the country.
Last week, a controversy erupted after Modi had said that no outsider was inside Indian territory in Ladakh nor had any border post of the Indian Army been captured during the clashes with Chinese troops. However, a clarification issued by Modi’s office claimed that attempts were being made to give a “mischievous interpretation” to his remarks and said his comments referred to the situation at the Line of Actual Control after Indian soldiers had foiled China’s intrusion.
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