13th Round of India-China Corps Commander Talks Conclude: Reports

The talks between the two countries went on for more than eight hours, reported ANI.

Hot Springs area. 

(Photo Courtesy: Australian Strategic Policy Institute)

The 13th round of Corps Commander talks between India and the People's Republic of China on Sunday, 10 October, concluded after more than eight hours of discussion between the two countries, Army sources said, according to ANI.

The talks began at 10:30 AM and ended at 7 PM, reported the Hindustan Times. They were held in Moldo, opposite Chushul, a village in Leh district, Ladakh, along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

"The talk aimed at discussing and resolving the military standoff in the Eastern Ladakh sector," the sources said, as per ANI.

Background

The Sino-Indian border tensions erupted last year on 5 May when forces of both sides clashed in Pangong lake area, Eastern Ladakh. Consequently, the military presence of both the Indian and the Chinese armies was boosted.

Since the May 2020 clashes, many rounds of talks have been held for disengagement of troops. The 12th round had led to the successful disengagement from Gogra.

But transgressions have continued to occur.

On 30 August, almost a 100 Chinese soldiers breached the LAC and set foot on Indian soil, in the Barahoti sector of Uttarakhand.

However, varying knowledge about what exactly constitutes the LAC could have also led to those breaches, according to PTI.

India has clearly told China to not "shift the goalposts".

This is further exemplified by what Vikram Misri, Indian envoy to China, has also said, that "for long, the Indian and Chinese sides have adhered to a well-understood distinction between resolving the boundary question and managing border affairs," as quoted by NDTV.

(With inputs from ANI, Hindustan Times, NDTV and PTI.)