It is now the seventh month since India and China entered into a standoff across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh. Last week, senior Indian military commanders and their Chinese counterparts organized a meeting to discuss potential disengagement of troops from both the nations who are standing eye-to-eye across the border. However, unfortunately a breakthrough in the standoff isn’t seeming like a possible case in the near future.
Many analysts have predicted that the ‘armed stalemate’ is probably going to continue with militarization of not only the LAC but also of the entire Ladakh region. Analysts and people familiar with the matter say that this is expected to have several implications like intrusion by troops by both the sides across the LAC, increasing tensions, restructuring of its Tibet policy by India, and increasing manpower and resources by the Indian Military.
On Sunday, Both the nations organized talks on the Indian side of the LAC at Chushul. After the meeting, they released a joint statement which read that both the sides had in-depth, candid and constructive exchange of views on the disengagement. A professor of Chinese Studies at the New Delhi-based Jawaharlal Nehru University, Srikanth Kondapalli said that the statement basically means that there was no agreement by both the nations on disengagement.
According to the joint statement, both the sides agreed that they need to earnestly implement the important consensus reached by leaders of both the nations. They should ensure that frontline troops remain restraint and avoid miscalculation and misunderstanding. This statement signals that both the nations want to ensure that the condition does not get out of control. An uneasy calm which has established since September does not get broken.
The statement further read that both the sides have agreed to exercise dialogue through channels of military and diplomacy. Both the nations should take forward discussions at this meeting and push for the settlement of other pending issues to maintain peace and tranquility in the border regions. Both the sides have agreed that they will have another round of talks soon.
