There was yet again no concrete breakthrough in resolving the festering troop face-offs at Depsang Plains and Demchok in eastern Ladakh despite the latest round of top-level military talks being held with China after a gap of almost four months.

China did not agree to restore patrolling rights of Indian soldiers at the strategically-located Depsang Plains, towards the crucial Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) and Karakoram Pass in the north, and the Charding Ninglung Nallah (CNN) track junction near Demchok, sources told TOI.

Though there was no immediate headway in the 19th round of corps commander-level dialogue at the Chushul-Moldo border meeting point on Sunday-Monday, sources said the talks were “better than the previous few rounds” with “some amount of agreement to move ahead” in strengthening confidence-building measures and not further increasing force-levels along the 3,488-km Line of Actual Control (LAC).

This was also reflected in the two sides issuing a joint statement on Tuesday, unlike the separate ones after the 18th round on April 23. India and China “agreed to resolve the remaining issues in an expeditious manner and maintain the momentum of dialogue and negotiations through military and diplomatic channels”, the joint statement said.

“In the interim, the two sides agreed to maintain the peace and tranquillity on the ground in the border areas,” it said. The two sides had “a positive, constructive and in-depth discussion on the resolution of the remaining issues” along the LAC in the western sector. In line with “the guidance provided by the leadership, they exchanged views in an open and forward looking manner”, it added

India has been pressing for troop disengagement at Depsang and Demchok as the essential first step towards the eventual de-escalation and de-induction of the over 50,000 soldiers each forward deployed by the two armies with heavy weapon systems along the frontier in eastern Ladakh for over three years now.

Source: The Times of India