India-China to hold 9th round of military commander level talks today
New Delhi, Jan 23: India and China will hold the 9th round of military commander level talks on Sunday. The talks will be held in Moldo opposite to the Chushul sector in India.
The development comes a day after Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh pushed for a complete withdrawal of troops along the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh.
There
have
been
8
rounds
of
talks,
but
both
sides
have
not
been
able
to
work
out
a
solution
as
yet.
Singh
had
said
that
India
won't
reduce
its
soldiers
unless
China
initiates
the
process,
noting
that
New
Delhi
is
developing
infrastructure
in
border
areas
at
a
"very
fast
rate".
March-April will be crucial for the Indo-China standoff
India and China are locked in a border dispute since May last year. Tensions were further escalated after the Galwan Valley clash in which 20 Indian soldiers were martyred and an equal number of Chinese soldiers were either killed or went missing.
"Both sides have agreed to hold the next round of the senior commander level meeting soon and we are in close communication over diplomatic and military channels in this regard," Spokesperson in the ministry Anurag Srivastava said.
He was replying to a question on the next round of military talks at a media briefing.
The eighth and last round of military talks between the two sides had taken place on November 6 during which both sides broadly discussed disengagement of troops from specific friction points.
India has all along been maintaining that the onus is on China to carry forward the process of disengagement and de-escalation at the friction points in the mountainous region.
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In a clear message to China, Chief of Army Staff Gen M M Naravane last week said India is committed to resolve the eastern Ladakh standoff through talks but no one should make any mistake of testing its patience.