India and China agreed to ensure that no untoward incident takes place as the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the Indian Army continue to hold defences along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The two sides also agreed to hold the 14th round of senior commander-level meeting at an early date.
“The two sides (India & China) agreed that both sides should in the interim also continue to ensure a stable ground situation and avoid any untoward incident. It was agreed that both sides should hold the next (14th) round of the Senior Commanders meeting at an early date,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.
While agreeing to reach an early resolution over the ongoing standoff at certain areas such as the Depsang plains along the LAC, the Indian and Chinese sides reiterated their commitment to the bilateral agreements and protocols that govern the de-facto boundary between India and China.
“The two sides had candid and in-depth discussions on the situation along the LAC in Western Sector of India-China Border Areas and also reviewed the developments since the last meeting of the Senior Commanders of both sides which was held on 10th October 2021,” the MEA said.
India and China on Thursday attended a virtual meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC), amid an ongoing impasse over the border standoff between the two countries.
The meeting assumes importance on the backdrop that the October 10 meeting between the armies of China and India failed to reach an agreeable solution to resolve the ongoing standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The WMCC was led by Naveen Srivastava, the additional secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs (East Asia) who was accompanied by officials from the Indian Army, Home Ministry, Indo-Tibetan border Police (ITBP) and the Ministry of Defence.
No forward-looking proposal from the Chinese Army
In a statement released after the October 10 meeting between the Indian and Chinese militaries, the Indian Army had said that China did not agree with any of the constructive suggestions floated by the Indian side. “The Chinese side was not agreeable and also could not provide any forward-looking proposals. The meeting thus did not result in resolution of the remaining areas,” the statement said.
As reported earlier by Times Now, the two sides have increased the deployment in the area to about 50,000 troops besides armoured vehicles and artillery equipment.
Moreover, the Chinese side has also started constructing heated accommodations for its troops, thus hinting that a resolution could be far from sight and that the militaries of the two nations could be staring at a long stint at the LAC.
