Published 21:52 IST, September 24th 2020
Indo-China faceoff: MEA briefs on 'candid & in-depth exchange' at 6th Military-level talks
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Anurag Srivastava, on Thursday, highlighted that the commanders released their first joint statement recently
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Briefing about the sixth Indo-China commander level talks in Moldo, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Anurag Srivastava, on Thursday, highlighted that the commanders released their first joint press release since the Galwan clashes. He stated that the two sides which met after 50 days, had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on stabilizing the situation along the LAC. The recent meeting also had an MEA official from both sides, apart from the commanders.
MEA on 6th Indo-china commander talks
"The 6th meeting gave the Senior Commanders an opportunity to have candid and in-depth exchanges of views on stabilizing the situation along the LAC. The two sides have also decided to strengthen the ground communication to avoid any further misunderstandings and misjudgments, stop sending more troops to the frontline, refrain from unilaterally changing the situation on the ground, and avoid taking any actions that may complicate the situation. In this regard, the two sides have also decided to have the next meeting of the Senior Commanders at the earliest. In parallel, the next meeting of the WMCC is also likely to take place soon," said Srivastava.
Defence Minister on LAC
During the monsoon session, 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.
Chinese Army pulls back
Over several rounds of Indo-China talks, the Chinese People's Liberation Army has retreated from the Finger 4 area and Patrol point 14 along the LAC, while India pre-empted PLA activity on the Southern Bank of Pangong Tso Lake capturing positions of 'strategic importance' in the Fingers area. While China has retreated from Galwan Valley, they are currently around Finger 5 area near the Pangong Tso Lake, with large troops and equipment in the 5-km stretch from Finger 5 to 8. India and China's Foreign Ministers have reached a 5-point consensus recently on LAC. 20 jawans were martyred on June 5-6 amid a violent face-off between Indo-China troops at LAC's Galwan Valley.
21:52 IST, September 24th 2020