New Delhi (AP) —Negotiations between Indian and Chinese military commanders to free troops from major friction areas along the border end in a stalemate, mitigating 17-month standoffs that sometimes lead to fatal clashes Couldn’t, both sides said on Monday.
Ongoing standoffs mean that both countries will maintain their troops in the area in front of Ladakh for the second consecutive winter at dangerous sub-zero temperatures.
The Indian Ministry of Defense made a “constructive proposal” in a statement, but the Chinese side said it “did not agree” and “could not provide a positive proposal.” A Chinese military spokesperson said, “The Indian side is sticking to unreasonable and unrealistic demands, making negotiations difficult.”
Commanders of both armies met on Sunday after a two-month gap in the Chinese side of Mold in the Ladakh region.
Since February, India and China have withdrawn their troops from several confrontations on the north and south coasts of Pangonzo, Gogra, and Garwan Valley, but continue to maintain additional troops as part of a multi-layered deployment.
According to media reports in India, troops have been added to the Demchok and Depsang plains.
The meeting on Sunday took place in frustration with what Indian Army staff called the Chinese large-scale deployment of troops and weapons.
“Yes, it is a concern that large-scale accumulations have occurred and are continuing. To maintain such accumulations, the same amount of infrastructure development is being carried out on the Chinese side,” Gen said. MM Naraban said on Saturday.
“That means they (China) are staying there. We are watching all these developments carefully, but if they stay, we will stay,” he said. rice field.
“The determination to defend China’s sovereignty is unwavering, and China wants India not to misunderstand the situation,” said a Chinese statement by Senior Colonel Long Xiaowa of Western Theater Command.
Temperatures in the area in front of Ladakh will drop to 30 degrees Celsius (22 degrees Fahrenheit below 0 degrees Celsius) around January. Around this time, the two troops had retreated to a traditional summer position, but have remained near the conflicting border since the confrontation began in May 2020.
Both countries have stationed tens of thousands of soldiers, supported by artillery, tanks and fighters, along a de facto border called the actual line of control. Last year, 20 Indian troops were killed in a clash with Chinese soldiers involved in disputed border clubs, stones and fists. China said it had lost four soldiers.
The Line of Actual Control separates the territories owned by China and India from Ladakh in the west to Arunachal Pradesh in the east of India. India and China fought a deadly war across the border in 1962.
Since the startoffs began last year, the Chinese have built dozens of large weatherable structures along the LAC in eastern Ladakh for their troops to stay during the winter. New heliports, runway expansions, new barracks, new surface-to-air missile sites, and radar locations have also been reported by Indian media.
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Beijing Associated Press writer Ken Moritsugu contributed to this report.