India, China hold 18th round of military talks to resolve LAC issue

India and China held a fresh round of high-level talks to resolve issues at the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh, where the two sides have been locked in a border row for almost three years.

The 18th round of military talks between India and China was held at the Chushul-Moldo border meeting point on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. However, an official statement on the outcome of the meeting is awaited.

The military-level talks comes ahead of the Chinese defence minister's upcoming visit to India for a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting to be held in New Delhi.

Reportedly, Indian side pressed on resolving the issues at the remaining friction points of Demchok and Depsang in eastern Ladakh at the earliest.

After several rounds of high-level talks, India and China have initiated disengagement process from Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso, Gogra (PP-17A) and Hot Springs (PP-15). However, both the armies still have more than 60,000 troops deployed in the region.

At the 17th round of military talks held on December 20. the two sides exchanged views in an "open and constructive" manner to resolve the "relevant issues" and that it was agreed to maintain "security and stability" on the ground in the region.

According to a joint statement, India and China agreed to stay in close contact, maintain dialogue through military and diplomatic channels and work out a mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues at the earliest.

The Corps Commander-level talks were set in motion to resolve the eastern Ladakh row. India has reiterated that its ties with China cannot be normal unless peace is established in the border areas.

On 5 May 2020, clashes erupted in the Pangong lake area due to China's repeated stopping of Indian patrols in the region.

The ties between the two countries plunged significantly after the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.

with agency inputs