At 6th Corps Commander-level talks, India demands restoration of status quo ante: Sources

In the 6th Corps Commander-level talks held on Monday, India as per sources insisted that China must move back to the pre-April 2020 positions in Eastern Ladakh. 14 Corps Chief Lt Gen Harinder Singh, Lt. Gen. PGK Menon and a Joint Secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs were a part of the Indian delegation in the meeting which commenced at around 10 am and went on till 11 pm. Sources added that the Chinese side requested India to vacate the positions taken on the south bank of Pangong Tso.

This comes amid reports that the Indian Army has occupied 6 new heights between August 29 and the second week of September. Talks at the Corps Commander level took place after more than a month as the People's Liberation Army of China has engaged in multiple provocations along the Line of Actual Control. The agenda of the Indian side was finalised during a high-level meeting in which National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and COAS General Manoj Naravane.

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Rajnath Singh's statement on LAC faceoff

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh made a statement on the LAC situation in both the Houses of Parliament. He affirmed that the Armed Forces were capable of facing any challenge from China. While acknowledging that the situation at the LAC is very different both in terms of the scale of troops involve and the number of friction points, he reiterated India's commitment for a peaceful resolution of the dispute. Observing that the violent conduct of Chinese troops was a violation of all past agreements, he informed the MPs that India has done counter deployments in the area to safeguard the border. 

Singh conceded that the LAC boundary issue remains unresolved due to the reluctance of China to recognise the traditional and customary alignment of the border. Furthermore, he added that China is in the illegal occupation of 38,000 sq. km in Ladakh apart from 5,180 sq. km of Indian territory in PoK ceded by Pakistan in 1963. He explained that both sides continued to have a differing perception about the LAC over the last many decades. There are friction points in Eastern Ladakh, Gogra, Kongka La and Pangong Lake's north and south banks. 

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(With ANI inputs)