India on Sunday pressed for an early disengagement of troops within the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh at the 13th round of military talks with China that lasted for around eight-and-half hours, sources within the security establishment said.
It is learnt that a significant focus of the Corps Commander-level talks was to complete the stalled disengagement at Patrolling Point 15.
There was no official investigate the negotiations that happened on the Chinese side of the Chushul-Moldo border point in eastern Ladakh.
The talks, which started at 10:30 AM and ended at 7 PM, came about over two months after the last round of negotiations that resulted within the disengagement of troops from Gogra.
India has been insisting that the resolution of outstanding issues all told friction points including in Depsang is crucial for an overall improvement in ties between the 2 countries.
The Indian delegation is known to own conveyed this view firmly at the 13th round of talks while pressing for bringing down tensions at Depsang.
The talks passed off within the backdrop of two recent incidents of attempted transgressions by the Chinese troops – one within the Barahoti sector of Uttarakhand and another within the Tawang sector in Arunachal Pradesh.
The two sides held the 12th round of talks on July 31. Days later, the 2 armies completed the disengagement process in Gogra, which was seen as a major forward movement towards the restoration of peace and tranquillity within the region.
The Indian delegation at Sunday’s talks was led by Lt Gen PGK Menon, the Commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps.
The border standoff between the Indian and Chinese militaries erupted on May 5 last year following a violent clash within the Pangong lake areas and each side gradually enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers further as heavy weaponry.
As a results of a series of military and diplomatic talks, the 2 sides completed the disengagement process within the Gogra area in August.
In February, the 2 sides completed the withdrawal of troops and weapons from the north and south banks of the Pangong lake in line with an agreement on disengagement.
Each side currently has around 50,000 to 60,000 troops along the road of Actual Control (LAC) within the sensitive sector.
