India, China agree to maintain dialogue to resolve LAC standoff
India and China on Friday agreed to hold the next round of military talks at an early date to achieve the objective of complete disengagement in remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh amid fresh sparring between the two sides on the prolonged LAC standoff.
At a virtual meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on border affairs, the two sides had a “frank exchange” of views and decided to maintain dialogue to reach a mutually acceptable solution for withdrawal of troops in all friction points to enable progress in the overall ties, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
In a statement at the end of the talks, the MEA said both sides agreed on the need to find an early resolution to the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
The talks took place in the backdrop of a fresh round of sparring between the two sides over the standoff as well as deadlock in further movement in the disengagement process after the withdrawal of troops by both sides from the north and south banks of Pangong Lake in February.
“Both sides agreed on the need to find an early resolution to the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh keeping in view the agreement reached between the two foreign ministers in September 2020,” the MEA statement said.