India-China face off: Military commander level talks tomorrow

New Delhi, July 13: The military commander level talks between India and China will be held today.

The corps commander level talks will be held at Chushul in eastern Ladakh on Tuesday.

The talks would mainly focus around the second phase of disengagement by the two sides.

Meanwhile the Chinese soldiers have taken a step back at several locations along the Line of Actual Control. The PLA and Indian Army have moved back around 600 metres from the four friction points, where they has been a tense standoff.

Officials said that both sides have decided to halt patrolling at the four points- Galwan, Gogra, Hot Springs and Pangong Tso. There would be no prejudice to their patrolling rights as a precaution, sources tell OneIndia. This has been done with a view of decreasing tensions, the source also said.

Both India and China have agreed that it was necessary for both sides to implement the understandings reached between the senior commanders of the Indian Army and Chinese PLA for disengagement of troops alone the Line of Actual Control.

The agreement came following a meeting of senior diplomats of India and China via video-conference. Both sides reviewed the progress made in withdrawal of soldiers by the two sides from the face off scenes along the LAC.

This was the 16th meeting of the working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC), which was constituted in 2013. The Indian side was led by Naveen Srivastava, who heads the East Asia division at the MEA. The delegation of the Chinese government was led by Hong Liang, the Director General of Department of Boundary and Oceanic Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The MEA said in a statement that both sides would ensure complete disengagement of the troops along the LAC and de-escalation from India-China border areas for full restoration of peace and tranquility in the border areas in accordance with bilateral agreements and protocols. Srivastava and Hong also agreed that for the overall development of bilateral relations it was essential to maintain enduring peace and tranquility in the border areas.

Both sides noted that senior military commanders of India and China would hold another round of talks to follow up on the three rounds of talks they had held on June 6, 22 and 30. Srivastava and Hong also agreed to maintain the ongoing communication both at the diplomatic and military level to ensure early resolution of the situation.