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| An IAF chopper flies in the skies above Leh in Ladakh on Monday. |
Top Indian and Chinese military officials will meet for the third time on Tuesday in Ladakh’s Leh district to diffuse tension along the contested Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The meeting between corp commanders is the third—first was held on June 6 and second on June 22 in Moldo on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC)—after border tensions erupted between both the countries in May.
The second meeting came a week after the violent face-off between soldiers from the Indian Army and China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in eastern Ladakh’s Galwan Valley.
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Here are the details:
* This time the talks will be held in Chushul on the Indian side at 10:30am and led by corps commanders
* The Indian side could again demand the pullback of Chinese troops from several friction points and also the restoration of status quo ante in strategic areas.
* On June 22, Lieutenant General Harinder Singh, commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps, and Major General Liu Lin, commander of the South Xinjiang military region, led the meeting between delegations for nearly 11 hours. It was held a week after the June 15 brutal clash between soldiers from the Indian Army and China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in eastern Ladakh’s Galwan Valley.
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* The marathon dialogue was held in a cordial, positive and constructive atmosphere and there was “mutual consensus to disengage”. “Modalities for disengagement from all friction areas in eastern Ladakh were discussed and will be taken forward by both the sides,” an official, in the know of the details, had said then asking not to be named.
* During that meeting, India had demanded the pullback of Chinese troops from the Finger Area—a cluster of strategic features in the north bank of Pangong Tso—where the PLA has set up bunkers, pillboxes and observation posts.
* They said the army was also demanding the withdrawal of the PLA troops from Galwan Valley and the restoration of status quo ante in key strategic areas of in the Finger Area, Gogra Post-Hot Springs and Galwan Valley.
* On June 6, Lt Gen Singh and Maj Gen Liu led the meeting between the delegations and was the first meeting of top military officials since the two armies locked in the border standoff that began with a confrontation between rival patrols near Pangong Lake on May 5.
* After the seven-hours-long meeting, the external affairs ministry had said India and China will continue military and diplomatic contacts to resolve the stand-off along LAC.
* It “took place in a cordial and positive atmosphere”, MEA had said and added that both sides agreed to work towards peacefully resolving the situation.
Source: Hindustan Times
