India, China militaries to hold eighth round of talks over border dispute

Indian and Chinese military commanders will meet for the eighth time next week to deliberate on resolving the border dispute in eastern Ladakh, after all earlier rounds of talks ended up in deadlock with no sign of de-escalation at the Line of Actual Control even as the winter is setting in.

The last meeting of the military commanders from both sides to resolve the six month standoff was held at Chushul on October 12 but too ended without any resolution of the dispute.

After the meeting, the Indian Army had issued a statement, saying that the two sides had a sincere, in-depth and constructive exchange of views on disengagement along the Line of Actual Control in the Western Sector of the India-China border, and "were of the view that these discussions were positive, constructive and had enhanced understanding of each other's positions".

It had also had said that both sides agreed to maintain dialogue and communication through military and diplomatic channels, and arrive at a mutually acceptable solution for disengagement as early as possible.

Temperatures at critical mountain peaks and passes along the disputed India-China border have dropped to minus 20 degrees Celsius throwing up a fresh challenge to the thousands of troops amassed by both sides.

On August 30, India occupied critical mountain heights like Rechin La, Rezang La, Mukpari, and Tabletop, that were unmanned till now, on the southern bank of the Pangong Lake. It also made some deployments near Blacktop also.

The deployment came after the Chinese tried to make a provocative military move. Now, dominance at these 13 peaks allows India to dominate Spangur Gap under Chinese control and also the Moldo garrison on the Chinese side.