The third round of corp commander level talks between 14th Corps Commander Lt General Harinder Singh and South Xinjiang Military Region Commander Major General Liu Lin went on for 12 hours and got over at 11 pm on Tuesday, 30 June, at the Chushul border point (Chinese side), reported news agency ANI.
The meeting was held to discuss the status of disengagement of troops at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and the roadmap for the de-escalation process.
Government sources also said that the two parties explored ways to ease the tension in the area.
There has been no official statement on what transpired at the meeting, however, as per The Indian Express, sources in the Army have said that the “Army is preparing for the long haul and the standoff is expected to continue well into the winter.”
The sources also revealed to the daily that the “process to define the details of disengagement” were taken up at the meeting and stress was laid on the fact that the “concentration and mobilisation of troops continues and hasn’t shown signs of abating”.
Speaking to Business Standard, government sources have said that they are concerned over China’s “new claim lines” in the region.
The report also mentions that the Indian side proposed strictly following provisions of numerous agreements on handling issues related to the current border situation.
In the previous two meetings, the Indian team had demanded that China withdraws its troops from the Galwan Valley, Panging Tso and restore the status quo ante.
Both the armies are locked in a standoff at the border in various location with tensions escalating on a daily basis. The Indian government has given the army “full freedom” to give a “befitting” reply to the Chinese if they indulge in any form of misadventure along the LAC, the report added.
In addition to this, both the armies have reportedly deployed thousands of troops in the area with India also positioning its air defence systems and attack helicopters on its side of the border.
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