India, China Hold 15th Round Of Talks On Ladakh Standoff After No Progress During Last Two Meetings

India and China are holding the 15th round of military talks today (11 March) to discuss the disengagement of troops from the friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, where the two sides have been locked in a tense military standoff since May 2020.

At the talks taking place today, India and China will discuss the disengagement of troops deployed in the Hot Springs area.

The standoff at Hot Springs was also discussed during the 14th round of talks in January this year. However, no breakthrough for disengagement was achieved during the talks.

"The two sides had a frank and in-depth exchange of views for the resolution of the relevant issues along the LAC in the Western Sector. They agreed that both sides should follow the guidance provided by the State Leaders and work for the resolution of the remaining issues at the earliest," the two sides said in a joint statement after the 14th round of talks held at the Chushul-Moldo border point on the Chinese side.

The 13th round of talks between the two sides, held in October last year, had also ended without an agreement on disengagement at the remaining friction points along the LAC in eastern Ladakh.

The Indian statement after the 13th round of talks said that the Chinese side did not come up with any "forward looking proposals" on the issue of disengagement and was "not agreeable" to India's "constructive suggestions" for the resolution of issues at the remaining friction points.

"The meeting thus did not result in resolution of the remaining areas," the statement issued by the Indian Army read.

China had responded by calling India's statement "groundless".

"The remarks by the Indian side are groundless," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian, one of China's most prominent wolf warrior diplomats, said at the daily press briefing in Beijing.

"China is firm in its resolve to safeguard national sovereignty," he added.

While Indian and Chinese troops have disengaged from the friction points in the Galwan Valley, on the north bank of Pangong Lake and the heights of the Kailash Range, the military standoff continues in other areas, including in the Depsang Plains in northeastern Ladakh. However, progress on disengagement in these areas is unlikely during the 15th round of talks.

The Army has called the standoff at Depsang a "legacy issue".

"This predates the present situation. This is a legacy issue. In 2010, when I was a brigade commander here, Depsang was a flash point then too," Lt Gen Y K Joshi, the then the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Army’s Northern Command, told News18 in February 2021.

Also Read: Explained: India-China Standoff In Ladakh's Depsang