India and
China on Wednesday held another round of Brigade Commander level talks in
Ladakh’s Chushul in an attempt to calm tensions, ANI reported citing Indian Army
sources.

The two sides
have also agreed on holding Corps Commander level talks, although the date,
modality and agenda for it are yet to be finalised.  

This comes after tensions between the two nations escalated following fresh border conflicts between the Indian Army and Chinese troops in
eastern Ladakh on Monday.

The Indian
Army accused the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of firing shots in the
air and attempting to close-in on an Indian position in the area,
while rebuffing allegations that it transgressed across the LAC.

Government sources said that the Chinese troops carried rods, spears, clubs and sharp weapons in trying to close in on an Indian position in Mukhpari area of Rezang-La ridgeline in eastern Ladakh on Monday evening. 

Meanwhile, the
PLA alleged that Indian troops crossed the LAC and “outrageously
fired” warning shots near the Panging lake.

The use of firearms along the LAC
marks a significant escalation in border tensions, as the previous instance of
shots fired across the de-facto border was in 1975.

On Tuesday,
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said they hope to achieve
disengagement through mutual consultations as soon as possible owing to the
impending arrival of harsh winter in the region.

India had
earlier called on China to work jointly for “complete disengagement and
de-escalation” on the LAC, saying that the future of the bilateral relationship
is dependent on the situation along the border.

Earlier, the Chinese military was also suspected of kidnapping five Indian nationals from Arunachal Pradesh on Friday. 

The incident took place in the Nacho area in a forest in Upper Subansiri district along the border of India-China where they had gone for hunting, said their families

On Tuesday, Union minister Kiren Rijiju said that the PLA has admitted that the five people missing from Arunachal Pradesh are on their side of the border and that modalities were being worked out for their release. 

This came a day after Beijing said that it never considered Arunachal Pradesh as a part of India and that it could not abduct its own citizens.