India, China military commanders meet along LAC amid escalating border tension

The nearly 3,500-km-long LAC is the de-facto border between India and China

In a bid to defuse the current situation in Eastern Ladakh, high-level Indian and Chinese military commanders have met at a point along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), news agency ANI has reported.

Parallel diplomatic channels in New Delhi and Beijing are also working towards a peaceful resolution, reported ANI citing its sources.

There is a continuous standoff between the militaries of India and China at the LAC. Several areas along the LAC in Ladakh and North Sikkim have witnessed major military build-up by both the Indian and Chinese armies recently, in a clear signal of escalating tension and hardening of respective positions by the two sides even two weeks after they were engaged in two separate face-offs.

The nearly 3,500-km-long LAC is the de-facto border between the two countries.

According to the report, while the Indian and Chinese military commanders are holding face-to-face talks in Ladakh, and diplomatic efforts are going on in the capitals of both the countries to resolve the situation, the Indian Army has been effectively responding by building and deploying its own capabilities in Eastern Ladakh including the Galwan Valley.

India, which believes in peace, is firm and resolute when it comes to the defence of its territory, and will make no compromise with regard to maintaining the sanctity of its borders, said the report quoting sources.

This has been evident even in the four or more agreements made between India and China, which have historically formed the mechanism for border management, the report suggested.

These include agreements of 1993 and 1996 and there is a CBM (Confidence Building Measures) in place since 2005 and a border agreement since 2013. The mechanisms are still in place and working at a bilateral level, the report said.

The ongoing face-off is reportedly in reaction to India steadily building infrastructure in Ladakh and the increase in local civilian activity on the Indian side of LAC.

The report further said this is not the first time that the Chinese army has taken an aggressive posture in this region and provoked a face-off with Indian troops since the 1962 Indo-China war.

Earlier, there were Sikkim in 2008, Depsang in 2013 and Chumar in 2014. Also, the troops of India and China were engaged in a 73-day stand-off in Doklam tri-junction in 2017 which even triggered fears of a war between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

(With inputs from PTI)

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