(TibetanReview.net, Apr11’21) – Nearly two months after the last round of corps commander-level talks, the Chinese and Indian militaries held their 11th round of meeting on the Ladakh border standoff on Apr 9. However, there was no joint statement and China Apr 11 saw this as an indication of the difficulty of settling the remaining border issues between the two sides.
However, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Western Theater Command released a statement on Apr 10, noted China’s official globaltimes.com Apr 11. The meeting was held at the Chushul-Moldo border meeting point on the Indian side with both sides exchanging views on issues of mutual concern, and confirming that both sides will maintain military and diplomatic contact, the report cited Senior Colonel Long Shaohua, a spokesperson at the PLA Western Theater Command, as saying in the statement.
“We hope India can treasure the current positive situation of de-escalation in China-India border regions, abide by related agreements reached by the two countries and the two militaries in previous meetings, meet China halfway and safeguard peace and stability in border regions together,” Long was quoted as saying.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs was also stated to have released a statement, saying that the two sides held a detailed exchange of views for the resolution of the remaining issues related to disengagement, and agreed on the need to resolve the outstanding issues in an expeditious manner in accordance with the existing agreements and protocols.
This is unlike the previous rounds of meetings, the globaltimes.com report cited Chinese experts as saying Apr 11, noting that no joint statements were issued, and the statement from China was issued by the PLA Western Theater Command instead of the Chinese Ministry of National Defense, “which are signs that solving the remaining issues will be challenging for both sides.”
