India-China military meet over Ladakh standoff: Second round of Major General-level talks 'positive'

Indian and Chinese military commanders on Wednesday, June 6, held Major General-level talks to defuse a month-long standoff in Pangong Tso Lake and a number of other parts in eastern Ladakh.

During the second round of military talks held for more than four-and-half-hour, the Indian delegation pressed for restoration of status quo ante and immediate withdrawal of a sizeable number of Chinese troops from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on the Indo-China border.

The dialogue between representatives of both India and China took place in a "positive atmosphere" with an aim to further ease tension between the two sides, people familiar with the development said.

The meeting comes a day after both India and China have started disengaging troops at multiple locations in eastern Ladakh.

Meanwhile, later this week, another round of talks will be held between leaders of both armies at Patrolling Point-14 in the Galwan area, Patrolling Point 15, and the hot springs area.

The first round of discussions was held on Saturday, June 6, in which Lieutenant-General Harinder Singh of 14 Corps met with Major General Liu Lin of the Chinese army.

Another round of talks to be held soon

Hundreds of soldiers have been ranged against each other in the remote snow desert of Ladakh since April in the most serious border flare-ups for years after Chinese patrols advanced into what India deems its side of the de facto border, Indian officials say. China claims the territory to be its own and has objected to the Indian construction of roads in the area.

After weeks of tension including an incident in which patrolling soldiers from the two sides came to blows on the banks of Pangong Lake, resulting in injuries, friction has eased somewhat, one of the Indian officials said.

The two armies have since thinned out some forces in a positive signal but soldiers, tanks and other armoured carriers remained heavily deployed in the high-altitude region, the official said.

"There has been some kind of disengagement, there will be more talks to resolve this over the next days, it could be weeks even," the official said. Another Indian official said the Chinese military had moved back some tents and vehicles from the forward areas but there was still a large presence.

China's state-run Global Times quoted Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying as saying the two countries were communicating through diplomatic and military channels over issues concerning the border and that a "positive consensus" has been reached. It did not elaborate.

India and China fought a brief border war in 1962 and have not been able to settle their border despite two decades of talks. Both claim thousands of kilometres of territory and patrols along the undemarcated Line of Actual Control - the de-facto border - often run into each other, leading to tensions.

(With agency inputs)