Days after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Bali, India and China have decided to hold 16th round of senior military commanders’ meeting on Sunday, 17 July. The meeting will be held with the objective of discussing disengagement from remaining friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. Diplomatic sources told The Daily Guardian Review that the Indian side will demand “comprehensive disengagement at all flashpoints and restoration of the status quo ante of April 2020 in eastern Ladakh”.
In the 15th round of talks held on 11 March, India and China discussed the disengagement of troops for about 12 hours without making any substantial progress. People familiar with the preparation for the upcoming talks say that the Indian side is ready to step up more pressure on the Chinese military delegation during the dialogue on Sunday to ensure that some major forward movement happens.
After EAM Jaishankar gave a clear message to Wang Yi in Bali, reiterating India’s stand that the normalcy would not be possible without a resolution of the boundary crisis and full disengagement from all friction areas. This has been conveyed to China on numerous occasions since the start of the LAC tensions in 2020. In fact, Beijing has been saying that New Delhi should not hinge bilateral ties on resolution of the boundary dispute. But Jaishankar quite clearly apprised his counterpart from China in the Indonesian city that restoration of status quo ante of April 2020 is a must for the bilateral ties to be normal. During talks with Wang, Jaishankar had called for an early resolution of all outstanding issues, stressing on the need to sustain the momentum to complete disengagement from all the remaining areas. Diplomats here in South Block believe that EAM’s reiteration of this stand will definitely add to pressure on Beijing. “With this in backdrop, the upcoming military commanders’ meeting acquires significance,” sources said.
Now all eyes are on whether China’s PLA agrees to restore the status quo ante of early April 2020 during the upcoming senior commanders’ talks. China has been giving mixed signals to India with Wang Yi calling for a peaceful resolution of the border issue in his meeting with Pradeep Rawat, Indian Ambassador to Beijing, on June 22. Ambassador Rawat had made it clear to Yi that maintenance of peace and tranquility in the border areas is the key to normalization of bilateral ties with restoration of April 2020 status quo in East Ladakh central to normalcy in ties.