Beijing and New Delhi would like to “speed-up” the settlement of the Ladakh border dispute, as per a statement from the Chinese Ministry of National Defense on Tuesday.
The Chinese statement was released after the 18th Corp Commander-level meeting between the military commanders of the Indian Army and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) at the Chushul-Moldo border meeting point on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on Sunday.
Beijing said that two sides had a “friendly and candid exchange of views on relevant issues” and agreed to maintain “close contact and dialogue” through military and diplomatic channels, as per the “guidance” of the leaderships of the two nations.
The Chinese statement noted that both sides also agreed to “safeguard the peace and tranquillity” in the border areas.
A readout of the Corp Commander-level meeting released by India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Monday underlined that restoring peace and tranquility in the border areas would “enable progress in bilateral relations.”
As per the Indian statement, both the militaries have agreed to maintain “security and stability on the ground” in the eastern Ladakh region and “work out a mutually acceptable resolution” at the earliest.
The last Corp Commander-level meeting was held in December last year. At present, nearly 60,000 troops from India and China are embroiled in a standoff at two locations in the eastern Ladakh region — Depsang and Demchok.
Frequent contacts between the militaries and several meetings between the officials, including at the foreign minister level, have led to troop disengagement and de-escalation in the north and south of Pangong Tso and the Gogra Hot-Springs area.
China Announces Defense Minister’s Maiden Visit to India
On Tuesday, the Chinese Ministry of National Defense also announced that Defense Minister General Li Shangfu will visit New Delhi on 27-28 April to attend the Defense Ministers’ Meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
“General Li will address the meeting and meet with heads of delegations from relevant countries to exchange views on the international and regional situation as well as defense and security cooperation,” the Chinese statement read.
According to Indian media, Li will hold meetings with Indian defense minister Rajnath Singh and Russian defense minister Sergey Shoigu during the upcoming visit.
The visit would be the first by a Chinese defense minister to India since the Ladakh border standoff began in April-May 2020.