The ninth round of military talks between the Chinese and Indian military officials on Sunday failed to break the Ladakh standoff.
The Corps Commander-level meeting at the Moldo border point on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh continued for 11 hours.
In the military talks, India has all along been demanding restoration of status quo ante in all areas of eastern Ladakh prior to April.
The Press Trust of India quoted informed sources as saying that India insisted that the onus is on China to carry forward the process of disengagement and de-escalation at the friction points in the region.
India has been maintaining that the disengagement process has to start simultaneously at all the friction points and no selective approach was acceptable to it.
Close to 100,000 Indian and Chinese troops are deployed in eastern Ladakh as both sides have been holding on to their ground and showing readiness for a long-haul, amid continuing diplomatic and military talks to find an amicable solution, the PTI said.
Reflecting India's firm approach in handling the situation, Army chief Gen MM Naravane nearly two weeks back said that Indian troops will hold their ground as long as it takes to achieve the "national goals and objectives" even as he hoped for an amicable resolution of the row through talks.
India will not reduce its troop strength unless China initiates the process, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Friday in an interview to Times Now. Expressing confidence that a solution to the row could be found through talks, he said India is developing its border infrastructure, some of which China has objected to, at a "very fast rate".
According to a transcript of the interview issued by the channel, when asked about the dialogue process with China on the row, Mr Singh said, "There is no deadline when it comes to matter like the ongoing standoff. You can't fix a date."
The eighth and last round of the talks had taken place on
November 6 during which both sides broadly discussed disengagement of troops
from specific friction points.
China builds houses in Arunachal Pradesh/South Tibet
Ladakh standoff is on the western border of China-India while India media has reported that China has build houses in a village on the Indian territory on the eastern border.
The
Global Times has reported that Indian media is hyping China's construction of a
village in a "disputed area," saying the construction was built
within Indian territory. But the move stirs anti-China sentiment, as the
construction occurred within Chinese territory and serves the right purpose of
improving lives of border inhabitants.
Indian media NDTV reported recently that China
built a village of 101 houses in the Arunachal Pradesh, which China calls South
Tibet or Zangnan. Using so-called satellite images dated November 1, 2020, NDTV
said the village is located on the banks of the River Tsari Chu, which lies in
the disputed area.
India claims this area is its territory, but the
Chinese government has never recognized the so-called Arunachal Pradesh,
the Global Times said.
NDTV said that "the construction,
approximately 4.5 kilometers within Indian territory of the de facto border,
will be of huge concern to India."
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