New Delhi: Aiming to defuse tension along the Line of Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh areas, top military commanders of India and China will meet on June 6 for talks.
Sources in the Army said, “The meeting will be held at Chusul Moldo-based Border Personnel Meeting (BPM) point in Ladakh. It is one of the two designated meeting points in Ladakh. The Leh-based 14 Corps Commander will meet to his equivalent Chinese army officer.”
On Tuesday, Indian Army’s 3 Division head who is of Major General rank met his Chinese counterpart but the talks ended inconclusively, which led to high-level military talks on the issues.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had on Tuesday also told a news channel that a “large number of Chinese are present in the disputed area and our troops are also holding ground”.
In the recent crisis, the Chinese have been claiming that in their perception “their border is at a particular place. We are saying it is at another place and because of this, there is a difference of opinion. Their forces have come in, in good number and we have sent our troops there in sufficient numbers too," Mr Singh said.
In the past too, there has been dialogue at the military and diplomatic levels that has yielded a solution, the minister said.
“I have been told that there will be talks at the level of top military commanders on 6 June" to sort out this problem," he added.
As per the existing framework of LAC management between India and China, troops of either side do not hold ground in disputed areas of the LAC.
They come for patrol and return.
Troops of both countries have been engaged in a standoff in Ladakh for over three weeks at Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Demchok, and Daulat Beg Oldie.
The trigger for the face-off was China’s opposition to India building a road around the Pangong Tso lake and another link road connecting the Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldie road in Galwan Valley, which lies close to the LAC.
The alignment of LAC is accepted as per the China Claim Line of 1956.
Indian troops used to patrol up to an accepted point in the Galwan valley, but this time Chinese troops tried to stop them 5 km short of that point.
India and Chine share 3,488-kilometre-long de-facto boundary.
