India, China hold 12th round of military talks India presses for early disengagement in Hot Springs, Gogra and other friction points in eastern Ladakh
   Date :01-Aug-2021

India China _1  
 
 
NEW DELHI :
 
INDIA on Saturday pressed for an early disengagement of troops and weapons in Hot Springs, Gogra and other remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh during the 12th round of military talks with China that lasted for around nine hours, sources in the security establishment said. Both sides held detailed deliberation and the talks were comprehensive, they said without elaborating further. There was no official comment on the outcome of the meeting that took place at the Moldo border point on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh amid expectations of a breakthrough in the disengagement process in Gogra and Hot Springs. It is learnt that both sides discussed “specific details to cool tempers in the remaining friction points including moving ahead with the disengagement process and agreed to jointly maintain stability on the ground”.
 
The talks started at 10:30 AM and ended at 7:30 PM, sources said. The Indian side forcefully pressed for early resolution of the standoff and particularly insisted on expeditious disengagement in Hot Springs and Gogra, a source said. Ahead of the talks, sources said India was hopeful of a positive outcome on the disengagement process. India has been insisting that the resolution of the outstanding issues, including at Depsang, Hot Springs and Gogra, is essential for the overall ties between the two countries. The latest round of talks took place after a gap of more than three and a half months. The 11th round of military dialogue had taken place on April 9 at the Chushul border point on the Indian side of the LAC and it lasted for around 13 hours.
 
The 12th round of military talks took place over two weeks after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar firmly conveyed to his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi that the prolongation of the existing situation in eastern Ladakh was visibly impacting the bilateral ties in a “negative manner”. The Indian delegation at Saturday’s talks was led by Lt Gen PGK Menon, the Commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps. The border stand-off between the Indian and Chinese militaries erupted in May last year following a violent clash in the Pangong lake areas and both sides gradually enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers as well as heavy weaponry.