India, China conclude 16-hr military talks, discuss further disengagement

The tenth round of Corps commander level talks between India and China concluded after 16 hours at Moldo, on the Chinese side of Line of Actual Control (LAC) on Sunday as the discussion focused on further disengagement at three friction points in Eastern Ladakh, including Gogra heights, Hot Springs and Depsang plains, Army sources said.

According to the sources, the marathon talks began at 10 am Saturday and ended at 2 am Sunday. This latest round of talks comes two days after completing the disengagement process from both the north and south banks of Pangong Lake.

The disengagement of troops of the Indian Army and China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) from the LAC was reached after sustained negotiations at the military and diplomatic level, said the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) last week.

"This agreement was reached after several rounds of sustained negotiations at the military and diplomatic level," Anurag Srivastava, MEA spokesperson had said in a press briefing, further adding that the next steps post disengagement has been "clearly spelt out" by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh during his speech in the Parliament.

"India's strategy and approach during disengagement talks with China are based on directions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that we will not allow an inch of our territory to be taken by anyone. It is a result of our firm resolve that we have reached the situation of an agreement," Defence Minister said during a session in Parliament last week.

Furthermore, the MEA spokesperson had informed further that no date has been set for the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs.

The two countries have had a stand-off along the LAC since April-May last year due to actions of the Chinese army and have held several rounds of military and diplomatic talks.