India and China, on Tuesday, decided to hold the next round of the senior commanders’ meeting at an early date to achieve the objective of complete disengagement from all friction points in eastern Ladakh in accordance with the existing bilateral agreements and protocols.
The decision was taken at the 24th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination (WMCC) on India-China border affairs. The Indian delegation was led by Naveen Srivastava, Additional Secretary (East Asia) in the Ministry of External Affairs while the Director-General of the Boundary & Oceanic Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs led the Chinese delegation.
The two sides reviewed the situation along the LAC in the Western Sector. They recalled that since the last meeting of WMCC in November 2021, both sides have held the 14th and 15th meetings of the senior commanders in January and March respectively.
It was also noted that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited India in March 2022 and held discussions with External Affairs Minister and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
They exchanged views on the current situation along the LAC and agreed that as instructed by the two foreign ministers, both sides should continue the discussions through diplomatic and military channels to resolve the remaining issues along the LAC at the earliest so as to create conditions for the restoration of normalcy in bilateral relations.
Troops of the two countries have been locked in a tense stand-off for two years now in eastern Ladakh. Following military talks, they have withdrawn troops from the North and South Bank of Pangong Tso, Galwan, and Gogra Hot Spring areas. However, they are still some key friction points that they have failed to resolve so far.