New Delhi, Jan 12: The 14th round of Senior Highest Military Commander Level (SHMCL) talks between India and China took place on Wednesday at Chushul-Moldo meeting point on the Chinese side, said sources in the security establishment.
The new commander of the Leh-based Fire & Fury Corps Lt Gen Anindya Sengupta is representing the Indian side while Maj Gen Yang Lin, commander of the South Xinjiang Military District, is representing the Chinese side.
Lt Gen Anindya Sengupta has taken over the command of the elite Corps from Lt Gen PGK Menon. The 14 Corps, raised on Sept 1, 1999 in the aftermath of the Kargil War, has successfully ensured security of both the LoC with Pakistan and LAC with China while maintaining strict vigil at some of the highest battlefields in the world, including the Siachen Glacier.
According to sources, the Indian side is looking forward to having a constructive dialogue to resolve the balance friction areas. The focus of the Indian side is disengagement in the Hot Springs area where the Chinese side have refused to budge in the talks held so far, they added.
The talks are being held at a time when China recently announced to ‘standardise’ names of 15 places in Arunachal Pradesh. India rejected the renaming proposal and asserted that the state has always been and will always be an integral part of India.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin said: “The China-India border situation is generally stable at the moment. The two countries are maintaining dialogue and communication through diplomatic and military channels. We hope the Indian side can work with China, and strive to switch from emergency response to normalised management and control in the border area as soon as possible.”
The last Corps Commander Level Meeting was held at Chushul-Moldo border junction on October 10 without making much progress.
The Indian side pointed out that the situation along the LAC had been caused by unilateral attempts of the Chinese to alter the status quo in violation of the bilateral agreements and urged that the Chinese side take appropriate steps in the remaining areas so as to restore peace and tranquility along the LAC.
The official statement issued by the Indian side of the 13th Corps Commander dialogue said that constructive suggestions to resolve the remaining of areas were given “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 issue of remaining of the areas.”
The PLA Western Theatre Command, in its statement, said that “India insisted on unreasonable and unrealistic demands, adding difficulties to the negotiations.” (Agencies)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
