Military level talks continue for second day even as China points the finger back at India

• Spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in India Counselor Ji Rong claims that it was Indian troops that crossed over the Line of Actual Control (LAC) over to China’s side.
  
• Military-level officers are currently engaged in talks in Chushul on the Indian side of the LAC to try and resolve the issue for a second straight day.
  
• It’s been over three months that India and China continue to be locked in a face-off in Eastern Ladakh.
  

India and China military level officials are sitting down for a second day in a row to reports of fresh conflict between troops on the ground.

After the Indian Ministry of Defence issued a statement accusing the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of violating the conditions of disengagement yesterday, China has pointed the finger right back at India accusing them of the same.



“On August 13, Indian troops violated the consensus reached in previous engagements and negotiations between China and India, illegally trespassed the Line of Actual Control (LAC) again at the Pangong Tso Lake and near the Reqin Pass in the western sector of China-India border, and conducted flagrant provocations, which again stirred tension in the border areas,” said the Spokesperson of Chinese Embassy in India Counselor Ji Rong in a statement.

Today, both sides are sitting down for talks between the militaries, at Chushul on the Indian side of the LAC. “A Brigade Commander-elevel talk started at 10:00 am,” sources told IANS. This after both sides already sat down five hours on Monday as well.

Neither side wants to take blame
India, while being the first to update the public about the situation in Ladakh, denies that there was any physical altercation between the troops. China maintains that its troops never crossed the LAC to begin with. “The Chinese border troops have been strictly observing the LAC and never crossed the line,” said China’s spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, Zhao Lijian.


The crux of the matter lies in the fact that the border along the banks of Pangong Tso lake remain in dispute. While India claims that the boundary lies at Finger 8, China officially recognises it be at Finger 2. ‘Fingers’ are used to mark locations using the mountainous ridges that jut out into the water.

The area in between is where most of confrontation takes place with neither being ready to give up territory.