TALKS WITH CHINA TO FOCUS ON DISENGAGEMENT FROM HOT SPRINGS

The 14th round of Senior Highest Military Commander Level (SHMCL) talks between India and China will take place on 12 January at the Chushul-Moldo meeting point, on the Chinese side at 09:30 AM (IST). The Indian side is looking forward to constructive dialogue for resolving the remaining friction areas, said Indian Army officials.

New Delhi and Beijing have been engaged in holding talks on the Line of Actual Control in the Eastern Ladakh area to resolve the standoff. So far, 13 rounds of talks have been held. Both sides are looking at the resolution of the Hot Springs friction point which emerged after the Chinese aggression last year.

The friction points on the banks of the Pangong lake and Gogra heights have been resolved. However, Hot Springs needs to be addressed, the sources said.

India has also been demanding the resolution of the DBO area and CNN junction area which have been there before the April-May timeframe last year and are considered to be legacy issues.

India responded aggressively to Chinese aggression and checked their actions at multiple locations. The 2020 Galwan clash also took place in June there in which both sides suffered casualties.

While working towards establishing peace in the area New Delhi has also maintained a high level of preparedness to thwart any misadventure by enemy troops. Rapid developments have been made in terms of roads and habitats for troops. Sources estimated that India can easily manage over 2 lakh soldiers in the area in extreme winters in case such a large number of troops are required to be there.