Talks with China go on for hours- Disengagement as of now looks unlikely: Defence ministry official

Imran Ahmed Siddiqui, TT, 23.06.20, New Delhi: Indian and Chinese corps commanders on Monday held talks for over 10 hours and decided to have another round on Tuesday.

The inconclusive dialogue amid a heavy build-up along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh prompted questions why the talks were stretching for hours regardless of the Prime Minister saying there is no intrusion.

“The meeting is still in progress. Disengagement as of now looks unlikely. Series of talks are scheduled in the coming days and they will continue,” a defence ministry official told The Telegraph on Monday night.

The meeting started at 11.30am and went past 10pm.

He said the situation was very “tense and volatile on the ground in the Galwan Valley and Pangong Lake”.

“There is a huge trust deficit after the June 15 incident. Amid heavy build-up from both sides, neither side is relenting and backing off,” he added.

Indian defence ministry sourced said the meeting took place on the Chinese side of the LAC at Moldo-Chushul to defuse the tensions between the two armies.

Sources in the security establishment said the ground situation at Pangong Lake, two-thirds of which is under China’s control, was “boiling over”.

“During the talks, India firmly demanded that the status quo in the Galwan Valley, Pangong Lake and Hot Spring area be restored and also flagged the premeditated and planned action on Indian soldiers that resulted in casualties,” he said.

The Indian delegation, the official said, asked the Chinese to pull back from areas of troop build-up and the transgression points where they are said to have erected makeshift camps.

Sources in the Indian Army on Monday said a Chinese commanding officer was among those killed in the June 15 clash in the Galwan Valley. “This has been confirmed by the Chinese side during the military talks with India,” a source said.

There was, however, no official statement from the army.

It is not clear why the army sources disclosed this on Monday when both sides resumed dialogue on the disengagement process.

Sources in the army said around 45 Chinese soldiers were killed or injured in the face-off near the Galwan river. China has confirmed casualties but has so far refused to provide any figure.