12th Round of Corps Commander-Level Talks Between India & China Ends After 9 Hrs

The 12th round of Corps Commander-level talks between India and China began at 10.30 am at Moldo on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on Saturday, 31 July, reported news agency ANI, quoting sources in the Indian Army.

The talks which ended at 7:30pm, lasted 9 hours, said reports.

Both India and China are yet to issue a statement on the talks. However, a statement is expected on Sunday, 1 August.

At the talks, taking place after a gap of three months, disengagement at friction areas like Hot Springs, Gogra and 900 square km Depsang plains will be discussed.

The Indian delegation is led by Leh-based XIV Corps chief Lt Gen PGK Menon and Additional Secretary (East Asia) in the Ministry of External Affairs, Naveen Srivastava.

The Chinese military delegation is led by Commander of the PLA's Western Theatre Command Xu Qiling, who was appointed earlier this month, reported IANS.

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"The initial attempt will be to resolve the issues in Gogra and Hot Springs. Finding a solution to Depsang might be tricky and take longer time," an officer had earlier told IANS.

The latest round of talks will take place after a gap of three months. The 11th round of Corps Commander-level talks had taken place on 10 April in Chushul-Moldo border to discuss disengagement from patrolling points of the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh.

Prior to that, the two sides had held the 10th round of military dialogues on 20 February.

This meeting comes soon after senior government officials stated that the Chinese have erected tents on the India side of the Charding Nala in Demchok in eastern Ladakh, according to a report by The Indian Express.

Indian government officials said that even though they have asked the 'so-called civilians' who are the occupying the tents set up in Demchok, to go back, 'their presence remains'.

India and China have been engaged in diplomatic and military talks after tensions began rising along the high-altitude border in 2020. The situation escalated when 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a skirmish in mid-June at Galwan Valley in Ladakh.

(With inputs from ANI, IANS and The Indian Express.)

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