The latest round of talks between Indian and Chinese military commanders over the standoff in Ladakh broke down on Sunday, the Indian Army said, adding that that the Chinese side was not “agreeable” and “could not provide any forward-looking proposals”.
“During the meeting, the Indian side […] made constructive suggestions for resolving the remaining areas but the Chinese side was not agreeable and also could not provide any forward-looking proposals. The meeting thus did not result in resolution of the remaining areas,” an army statement said.
“The two sides have agreed to maintain communications and also to maintain stability on the ground. It is our expectation that the Chinese side will take into account the overall perspective of bilateral relations and will work towards early resolution of the remaining issues while fully abiding by bilateral agreements and protocols,” it added.
China also indicated the talks had failed, with a statement from the Chinese military’s Western Theater Command saying, “India insists on unreasonable and unrealistic demands, adding difficulties to the negotiations”.
China has made “tremendous efforts to ease and cool down the border situation and fully demonstrated its sincerity”, it added.
Tensions have been high between the nuclear-armed neighbours following a deadly border battle in June last year in the strategically important Galwan river valley in Ladakh.
The world’s two most populous nations poured tens of thousands of extra troops into the high-altitude region in the Himalayas after the clash before talks led to a gradual de-escalation in the four areas.
Each side currently has around 50,000 to 60,000 troops along the Line of Actual Control or LAC in the sensitive sector.
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