Indian and Chinese armies committed to complete disengagement

NEW DELHI, Jul 16, 2020, India Today. Following the Corps Commander-level talks in Ladakh on Wednesday, the Indian Army has said India and China remain committed to the objective of complete disengagement, India Today reported.

In a statement on Thursday, Army spokesperson Col Aman Anand said, “India and China have been engaged in discussions through established military and diplomatic channels to address the prevailing situation along the LAC.”

“Commanders from PLA and Indian Army held a meeting at Chushul, on Indian side, for the fourth round of talks on 14 July,” said the Army.

The Indian Army has further said that the engagement between the troops was “consistent with the consensus reached between the Special Representatives of India and China earlier on 05 July” to discuss complete disengagement.

“The Senior Commanders reviewed the progress on implementation of the first phase of disengagement and discussed further steps to ensure complete disengagement,” the Army has said.

“The two sides remain committed to the objective of complete disengagement. This process is intricate and requires constant verification. They are taking it forward through regular meetings at diplomatic and military level,” the Indian Army has said in its statement.

The Indian military conveyed a “very clear” message to the Chinese army during nearly 15-hour-long talks that status quo ante must be restored in eastern Ladakh and it will have to follow all mutually agreed protocols for border management to bring back peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control, government sources said on Wednesday.

During the course of the intense and complex negotiations between senior commanders of the two armies that ended at 2 am on Wednesday, the Indian delegation also apprised the Chinese PLA about the “red lines” and conveyed that the onus was largely on China to improve the overall situation in the region, the sources said.

The talks were “very fruitful” and both sides agreed to begin phase two of the disengagement in the next few days, they said.

The fourth round of Lt General-level talks began around 11 AM on Tuesday at a designated meeting point in Chushul on the Indian side of the LAC.