Published 14:15 IST, July 15th 2020
Rajnath Singh to visit LAC & LoC; Army to deliberate over Corps-Commander talks with China
Raksha Minister Rajnath Singh is all set to visit Leh, Ladakh & areas surrounding LAC, sources said on Wednesday, as India-China concluded military level talks
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A day after India and China concluded fourth Corps-Commander level talks, it has been decided that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will visit Leh, Ladakh LACs as well as areas surrounding Line of Control on July 17-18, sources confirmed on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Indian Army top brass will carry out internal deliberation on what transpired in the 14.5 hours-long Corps Commander level talks on July 14-15. A statement is likely to be issued later, sources added.
About the aforementioned meeting, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that China and India held the fourth commander-level talks on Tuesday, which achieved progress in pushing forward disengagement of frontline border troops from both countries and easing border situation.
The Corps-Commanders’ level talks between India and China that started at 11.30 AM on Tuesday went on for almost 14.5 hours and ended at 2 AM on Wednesday. The meeting took place at Chushul in Eastern Ladakh. After the violent Galwan valley clash in which 20 Indian soldiers were martyred and the Chinese side also suffered casualties, both sides had decided that talks will continue to effectively continue the disengagement process. As per sources, the talks on Wednesday included a discussion on Pangong lake.
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India-China diplomatic talks reaffirm disengagement
Apart from military-level talks, India and China have issued statements reaffirming both countries' agreement to 'ensure complete disengagement of the troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC)'. Both countries have agreed to the same as troops deployed along LAC were very close to each other. More talks between diplomatic and military officials under the existing framework were also agreed upon.
China pulls back
On July 6, the Chinese Army removed tents from Patrol point 14 -- the place where the Galwan Valley faceoff took place and moved back by 1 km. Moreover, sources said that the rearward movement of vehicles of Chinese troops was seen in the general area of Galwan and Gogra Hot Springs. India has demanded a return to the status quo in April, asking the Chinese to remove the additional buildup done in the Galwan and Pangong Tso areas.
14:15 IST, July 15th 2020