Talks break no ice, India, China stand-off to continue through winter

The eighth round of Corps Commander-level talks between India and China at Chushul-Moldo in eastern Ladakh lasted 10 hours.

The eighth round of talks between India and China has yielded no breakthrough.

The Corps Commander-level talks at Chushul-Moldo in eastern Ladakh lasted 10 hours.

In a statement, the Indian Army said: "On November 6th, the 8th round of India-China Corps Commander Level Meeting was held in Chushul. The two sides had a candid, in-depth and constructive exchange of views on disengagement along the Line of Actual Control in the Western Sector of India-China border areas." 

"Both sides agreed to earnestly implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, ensure their frontline troops to exercise restraint and avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation." 

"Both sides agreed to maintain dialogue and communication through military and diplomatic channels, and, taking forward the discussions at this meeting, push for the settlement of other outstanding issues, so as to jointly maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas. They also agreed to have another round of meeting soon."

The Indian side remained firm on its stand that it will not agree to any one-sided disengagement proposal, sources said.

The Indian side insisted on early restoration of status quo ante of April and comprehensive disengagement of troops by China from all the friction points to resolve the row, sources added.

In earlier rounds of talks, Chinese People's Liberation Army pressed for withdrawal of Indian troops from a number of strategic heights around the Southern bank of Pangong lake. However, India maintained that the disengagement process has to start simultaneously at all the friction points.