WEB DESK
India and China will hold 10th round of Corps Commander level talks on Saturday at Moldo on the Chinese side of LAC in eastern Ladakh. The move follows the first phase of disengagement at Pangong Lake. Ahead of the talks, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying told media in Beijing that the two sides are in communication.
She said India is an important neighbour and restoring a healthy stable relationship is the aspiration and in the interest of the people. However, she said the timing of the talks and the revelation about the Galwan casualty figure on Chinese side are not related.
China on Friday, for the first time admitted casualties on its side at the Galwan valley clashes. The news came through the official media channels which gave details about the 4 Chinese soldiers who died in the clashes including one regimental commander from the PLA Xinjiang Military Command. It took almost 8 months in revealing the Galwan casualty details.
Later, at the Chinese foreign ministry briefing, the spokesperson said that this was in response to varying kinds of media reports and to better uphold peace and stability along the border. Yet at the same time, she said there was no relation between the timing of next round of talks at corps commander level and the revelation about Chinese casualties in Galwan valley clashes.
Now through diplomatic and military channels, the two sides are in communication on completing the disengagement smoothly. As the two sides engage into the 10th round of military talks on the Chinese side in Moldo on Saturday, they would be looking ahead to make progress in the process of disengagement.
In May 2020, the PLA troops moved forward from their usual positions in the Indian side of the LAC, leading to a long-drawn border standoff. On 10th February, China announced the “start of synchronized and organized disengagement” by the frontline troops of both sides at the southern and northern bank of Pangong Lake. China on Thursday said that the disengagement between Indian and Chinese troops from Pangong Tso in eastern Ladakh was proceeding smoothly and expressed confidence that the two countries will achieve the goal.