The Chinese Defence Ministry on Thursday said that Beijing and New Delhi were able to “reduce differences” and build “some consensus” on the disengagement of troops along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh, reported The Indian Express.
Both countries would maintain dialogue and arrive at a mutually acceptable resolution by an “early date”, said the ministry.
The statements came after a meeting between Li Jinsong, the director-general of the Chinese Defence Ministry’s Asian affairs department, and Pradeep Kumar Rawat, India’s Ambassador to China.
Border tensions between India and China have increased since June 2020 when a violent face-off between Indian and Chinese soldiers took place in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley. It had led to the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers. Beijing had said that the clash left four of its soldiers dead.
Since the Galwan clashes, China and India have held several rounds of military and diplomatic talks to resolve the border standoff.
On September 12, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that about 75% of the “disengagement problems” with China on the military standoff along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh have been “sorted out”.
On the same day, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval met Wang Yi, the Chinese foreign minister, at the sidelines of a BRICS meeting at Saint Petersburg in Russia. BRICS is a multilateral group comprising the world’s major emerging economies.
In a statement, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said that the meeting between Doval and Yi allowed the two sides to review the “recent efforts towards finding an early resolution of the remaining issues” along the Line of Actual Control.
Notwithstanding these talks, Beijing on Thursday reiterated its claim on the territory of Arunachal Pradesh, reported The Indian Express.
This came after a group of Indian mountaineers scaled a previously unclimbed peak in the state and named it after Tsangyang Gyatso, the sixth Dalai Lama.
When asked about this at a press conference, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said he was not aware of the expedition.
“Let me say more broadly that the area of Zangnan is Chinese territory, and it’s illegal, and null and void for India to set up the so-called ‘Arunachal Pradesh’ in Chinese territory,” Jian said. “This has been China’s consistent position.”
The expedition to the 20,942-foot high peak in Arunachal Pradesh comprised mountaineers from the National Institute of Mountaineering and Adventure Sports under the Union Ministry of Defence.
Also read: Why accepting ‘differing perceptions’ on the LAC might be hurting India strategically
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