India, China hold 14th round of border talks today
India and China on Thursday held discussions over pending border issues under the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC). The previous meeting of military commanders had remained inconclusive. WMCC is led by senior diplomat Naveen Srivastava and includes personnel from the Army, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, and the Ministries of Home and Defence. Here are more details on this.
Why does it matter?
The talks are significant as they will include the issues of disengagement from Hot Springs and Depsang areas of Ladakh. India and China have been involved in a standoff since last year's Galwan clashes where both sides suffered multiple casualties. The countries have since conducted numerous rounds of talks to ease off tensions. Earlier, the two sides had agreed to disengage in Gogra region
13th round of talks had failed
India and China had held the 13th round of military-level talks last month which failed to yield any results. Both the sides had blamed each other for the failure. India had said it made constructive suggestions but China did not agree to them. China, on the other hand, had accused India of "misjudging the situation" and raising "unreasonable and unrealistic demands."
Troops disengaged in Gogra in August
In May 2020, skirmishes between Indian and Chinese Armies had erupted in the Pangong Lake area. Each side currently has 50,000 to 60,000 soldiers deployed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Following discussions, the two sides had completed the disengagement process on the north and south banks of the Pangong lake in February and in the Gogra region in August.
China has built enclave in Indian territory, report claims
Meanwhile, China has constructed an enclave in Arunachal Pradesh, NDTV reported citing satellite images. The enclave comprises some 60 buildings and lies six kilometres within India in the region between the LAC and the International Boundary, the publication said. NDTV had earlier reported that China built an encroachment in Indian territory which was recently confirmed in a report by the United States Defense Department.
