India, China to hold 13th round of military talks on border standoff today

India and China are set to hold their 13th high-level military talks on Sunday as the two countries look to continue disengagement efforts in the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh, news agency PTI reported quoting government sources.

The talks are slated to be held at the Moldo border point on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh at 10:30 am, the sources said. 

On Thursday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that it expected China to work towards an early resolution of the remaining issues along the LAC and completely abide by bilateral agreements and protocols. 

“It is our expectation that China will work towards early resolution of the remaining issue along the Line of Control in Eastern Ladakh while fully abiding by bilateral agreements and protocols,” MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at a weekly briefing.

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Apart from pushing for early disengagement in the remaining friction points, India is also slated to press for resolution in Depsang Bulge and Demchok, the sources told PTI. 

The previous round of military talks took place on July 31, following which the two countries completed the disengagement process in Gogra. This was seen as a significant development in the impasse between the two nations and restoration of peace in the region. 

Sunday’s talks will happen in the backdrop of two recent attempted transgressions by Chinese troops, one in Uttarakhand’s Barahoti sector and another in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang sector. 

Indian and Chinese troops were engaged in a brief face-off near Yangtse in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh last week and it was resolved within few hours following talks between commanders of the two sides as per established protocols, people familiar with the development said on Friday.

On August 30, close to 100 soldiers of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) transgressed the LAC in the Barahoti sector, returning across the border after a few hours.