New Delhi: India and China didn’t make much headway in another round of diplomatic talks on May 31 on the standoff at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), agreeing only to continue discussions on outstanding issues and to convene the next meeting of senior military commanders at an early date.
The Indian delegation was led by the Additional Secretary, East Asia, from the Ministry of External Affairs, and the Director-General of the Boundary and Oceanic Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs led the Chinese side.
The two sides reviewed the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the western sector of the India-China border. They recalled that since the last meeting of WMCC in November 2021, both sides have held the 14th and 15th meetings of the Senior Commanders in January and March 2022, respectively.
The two sides exchanged views on the current situation along the LAC in eastern Ladakh. They agreed that as instructed by the two Foreign Ministers, both sides should continue the discussions through diplomatic and military channels to resolve the remaining issues along the LAC at the earliest so as to create conditions for the restoration of normalcy in bilateral relations.
In this context, they agreed to hold the next round of the Senior Commanders meeting at an early date to achieve the objective of complete disengagement from all friction points along the LAC in the western Sector in accordance with the existing bilateral agreements and protocols.
The disengagement and de-escalation process between India and China has been deadlocked since the two sides pulled back frontline troops from the north and south banks of Pangong Lake in February last year and from Gogra in August 2021. There has been no forward movement on disengagement at key friction points such as Hot Springs and Depsang.
