India and China have agreed at the 11th Corps Commanders talks that the completion of disengagement in “other areas” would pave the way for the two sides “to consider de-escalation of forces and ensure full restoration of peace and tranquillity and enable progress in bilateral relations”.
“The two sides had a detailed exchange of views for the resolution of the remaining issues related to disengagement along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. The two sides agreed on the need to resolve the outstanding issues in an expeditious manner in accordance with the existing agreements and protocols,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. “They also agreed to jointly maintain stability on the ground, avoid any new incidents and jointly maintain peace in the border areas.”
There was no joint statement this time unlike the past few rounds of talks.
The 11th round of talks were held at Chushul on Friday. The talks started at 10.30 a.m. and went on till 11.30 p.m., a defence official said.
The two sides also agreed that it was important to take guidance from the consensus of their leaders, continue their communication and dialogue and work towards a mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues at the earliest, the statement added.
With disengagement complete on both banks of Pangong Tso in February, the focus of the talks is now on disengagement from Patrolling Points (PP) at Gogra and Hotsprings.
