The 13th round of military talks between India and China on Sunday could not make any headway in resolving the remaining issues in Eastern Ladakh linked to the 17-month stand-off between the two countries and the PLA’s (People’s Liberation Army) bid to unilaterally alter the status quo on the ground.

The Indian Army on Monday said the “constructive suggestions” made by it at the latest round of military talks were neither agreeable to the Chinese side nor could Beijing provide any “forward-looking” proposals to resolve the issues.

In a statement in Beijing, the PLA, however, said that during the meeting, the Chinese side made “great efforts to promote the easing and cooling of the border situation and fully demonstrated China’s sincerity of maintaining overall interests of bilateral military relations.”

However, the Indian side still persisted in its “unreasonable and unrealistic demands, which added difficulties to the negotiations,” the PLA claimed.

The 13th round of India-China Corps Commander-level meeting was held at Chushul-Moldo border meeting point on the Chinese side on Sunday. During the meeting the discussions between the two sides focussed on

resolution of the remaining issues along the LAC in

eastern Ladakh.

In a strong statement, the Indian Army said, “The Indian side pointed out that the situation along the LAC had been caused by unilateral attempts of the Chinese side to alter the status quo and in violation of the bilateral agreements. It was therefore necessary that the Chinese side take appropriate steps in the remaining areas so as to restore peace and tranquillity along the LAC in the western sector.”

“This would also be in accord with the guidance provided by the two Foreign Ministers in their recent meeting in Dushanbe where they had agreed that the two sides should resolve the remaining issues at the earliest. The Indian side emphasised such resolution of the remaining areas would facilitate progress in the bilateral relations,” it said. 

The army further said, “During the meeting, the Indian side therefore made constructive suggestions for resolving the remaining areas but the Chinese side was not agreeable and also could not provide any forward-looking proposals. The meeting thus did not result in resolution of the remaining areas.”

The two sides have agreed to maintain communications and also to maintain stability on the ground. It is our expectation that the Chinese side will take into account the overall perspective of bilateral relations and will work towards early resolution of the remaining issues while fully abiding by bilateral agreements and protocols, the Indian Army added.

 “Instead of misjudging the situation, the Indian side should cherish the hard-won situation in China-India border areas,” said Senior Colonel Long Shaohua, spokesperson for the Western Theater Command of the PLA.

The PLA spokesperson asserted that China is firm in its resolve to safeguard national sovereignty. The Indian side should abide by the relevant agreements and consensus reached between the two countries and two militaries, show sincerity, and take concrete actions to jointly safeguard peace and stability in the border areas with China, he added.

As the two sides accused each other for the deadlock, the Indian side raised the issue of the stalled disengagement at Patrolling Point 15 (PP-15) as well as issues in Depsang Plains and Demchok, during the meeting.

Sources familiar with the talks said the Chinese delegation came to the meeting with a pre-determined approach and was not ready to move forward from its position.

The Indian delegation for the Sunday talks was led by Lt Gen PGK Menon, the Commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps, while the Chinese side was headed by Maj Gen Zhao Zhidan.

The border standoff between the armies of India and China erupted on May 5 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.

Sunday’s talks were held in the backdrop of massive propaganda warfare and pinpricks by the PLA in Arunachal Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh. The psychological operations by the PLA in the run-up to the meeting were aimed at putting psychological pressure on the Indian delegation. However, the Indian side remained unfazed by the PLA propaganda and stressed the need for early resolution of the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh. 

At a regular media briefing in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhao Lijian alleged that the Indian statement has “no factual basis” and claimed that the Chinese side made “great” efforts to ease the border situation.