A day after India and China held the 16th round of commander-level meeting at Chushul-Moldo border point on the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the two sides have finally released a joint statement. It appears that not much progress has been achieved at the meeting, which itself was held after a rather long time. The 15th round of meeting happened on March 11.
The statement said: "The two sides continued discussions for the resolution of the relevant issues along the LAC in the Western Sector in a constructive and forward looking manner. They had a frank and in-depth exchange of views in this regard, in keeping with the guidance provided by the state leaders to work for the resolution of the remaining issues at the earliest. The two sides reaffirmed that the resolution of remaining issues would help in the restoration of peace and tranquility along the LAC in the Western Sector and enable progress in bilateral relations."
It added that the two sides agreed to maintain the security and stability on the ground in the Western Sector and to stay in close contact and maintain dialogue through military and diplomatic channels and work out a mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues at the earliest.
The eastern part of Ladakh remains tense and heavily militarised despite the disengagement from Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso and Gogra-Hot Springs areas.
Relations between the two sides further dipped a few weeks ago when India accused China of violating the no-fly zone by sending its J10 Fighter to fly over the friction points. Air chief marshal V.R. Chaudhari recently said whenever Chinese jets come too close, the Indian Air Force also scrambles its jets.
India reportedly raised the air space incursion at the meeting. It also mentioned the three friction points that need to be resolved -- PP15 in Chang Chenmo sector, Charging-Ninglung Nallah at Demchok and Depsang Bulge area.
The statement, however, makes no mention of these points.
The meeting on Sunday was a marathon one, lasting nearly 12 hours. It was held after the two foreign ministers, S. Jaishankar and Wang Yi, met in Bali on July 7 on the sidelines of a G-20 meet and agreed that a meeting should be conducted soon.
Ever since the clash at Galwan in 2020 between Indian and Chinese armies, the two sides have had multiple meetings at various levels—both military and diplomatic.
