Image Source: Business Standard

AGENCIES | NEW DELHI

Talks between military commanders of India and China in Moldo on the Chinese side of Line of Actual Control have concluded after 5 hours, states the Indian Army.
ndian Army sources on Saturday said that the talks between military commanders of India and China in Moldo on the Chinese side of Line of Actual Control have concluded. The Indian delegation led by 14 Corps Commander Lt Gen Harinder Singh is returning to Leh, stated the Army. Talks between the delegations started at 11:30 AM on Saturday, reported a TV channel Republic Bharat.
The report further said apart from two armies' standoff, the Air Force was forced to rush its fighter jet patrols in Ladakh after Chinese military choppers were found to be flying close to the Line of Actual Control on last Tuesday. Indian Army sources on May 5, stated that the defense forces were involved in a stand-off with their Chinese counterparts near the India-China border in North Sikkim's Naku La Sector. This was later solved by local-level talks between the authorities.
Meanwhile, the Business Standard report says that the Lieutenant General-level talks between the Indian Army and China's People's Liberation Army concluded on Saturday. The Indian delegation returned to Leh after holding talks in Moldo on the Chinese side of the LAC.
"Talks between military commanders of India and China in Moldo on the Chinese side of Line of Actual Control are over. The Indian delegation led by 14 Corps Commander Lt Gen Harinder Singh is returning to Leh," ANI quoted a source as saying.
The delegation will brief the top Army brass including Army Chief Gen M M Naravane and the Northern Army Commander Lt Gen Y K Joshi about the talks. The Directorate General of Military Operations at Army Headquarters will brief the Ministry of External Affairs and other concerned government officials about the discussions.
The talks between Indian and Chinese military commanders began at around 11.30 am in Moldo, almost two hours behind schedule.
Lt Gen Harinder Singh met his Chinese equivalent Maj Gen Liu Lin, who is the commander of South Xinjiang Military Region of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, to address the ongoing tussle in Eastern Ladakh between the two countries and the heavy military build-up by the PLA along the LAC there.
The two sides have held close to a dozen rounds of talks since the first week of May when the Chinese sent over 5,000 troops along the LAC.
On Friday, officials of India and China interacted through video-conferencing with the two sides agreeing that they should handle "their differences through peaceful discussion" while respecting each other's sensitivities and concerns and not allowing them to become disputes in accordance with the guidance provided by the leadership.
In the last few days, there has not been any major movement of the PLA troops at the multiple sites where it has stationed itself along the LAC opposite Indian forces.
India and China are locked in a dispute over the heavy military build-up by PLA, which has brought in more than 5,000 troops along the Eastern Ladakh sector. The Chinese Army's intent to carry out deeper incursions was checked by the Indian security forces by quick deployment.
The Chinese have also brought in heavy vehicles with artillery guns and infantry combat vehicles in their rear positions close to the Indian territory.