New Delhi, Nov. 18: More than a month since India and China hardened their position after making no headway within the thirteenth spherical of Corps Commander-level talks, diplomats from the 2 nations agreed Thursday on the “need to find an early resolution to the remaining issues along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh while fully abiding by bilateral agreements and protocols so as to restore peace and tranquility”.

An official assertion by the Ministry of External Affairs, after the twenty third assembly of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC), stated, “The two sides also agreed that both sides should in the interim also continue to ensure a stable ground situation and avoid any untoward incident.”

The MEA assertion stated that the 2 sides recalled the settlement between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and the Foreign Minister of China Wang Yi throughout their assembly in September in Dushanbe that army and diplomatic officers ought to proceed their discussions to resolve the remaining points alongside the LAC in Eastern Ladakh.

“Accordingly, the two sides had candid and in-depth discussions on the situation along the LAC in Western Sector of India-China Border Areas and also reviewed the developments since the last meeting of the Senior Commanders of both sides which was held on 10th October 2021,” the assertion stated.

The Indian delegation was led by Additional Secretary (East Asia) from the Ministry of External Affairs. The Director General of the Boundary & Oceanic Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs led the Chinese delegation.

It additionally stated that “it was agreed that both sides should hold the next (14th) round of the Senior Commanders meeting at an early date to achieve the objective of complete disengagement from all the friction points along the LAC in the Western Sector in accordance with the existing bilateral agreements and protocols”.

A year-and-a-half into the army standoff on the LAC in japanese Ladakh, India and China had hardened their positions final month on October 10 after making no headway within the thirteenth spherical of Corps Commander-level talks to try to resolve the scenario at Hot Springs.

On October 11, a day after the talks on the Moldo border personnel assembly level close to Chushul, India and China, of their sharpest trade because the Galwan Valley conflict in June 2020 and stepped-up diplomatic efforts thereafter to achieve a negotiated answer, blamed one another for the failure to make progress over Hot Springs.

Troops have disengaged on the north and south banks of Pangong Tso and Gogra Post, however not at Hot Springs, the place they proceed to face one another ever because the Chinese crossed the LAC in May 2020. The Chinese have additionally been stopping Indian troops from accessing conventional patrolling factors on the Depsang Plains, not removed from the strategic Indian outpost at Daulat Beg Oldie close to the Karakoram Pass within the north.

India stated its delegation had made “constructive suggestions” on resolving the scenario within the “remaining areas” however the Chinese facet “was not agreeable” and in addition “could not provide any forward-looking proposals”. Earlier, China accused India of elevating what it known as “unreasonable and unrealistic demands” which, it stated, “added difficulties to the negotiations”.

This sharp trade of phrases was a departure from the previous, the place the 2 sides had been issuing joint statements displaying frequent understanding of the assembly outcomes.-Agencies