Ladakh border talks between India and China fail after PLA hardens its position

The latest round of Ladakh border talks have failed to achieve any breakthrough, with China hardening its position and refusing to take forward further de-escalation proposals. A window has been left open by both sides for further talks, but the winter deployment of thousands of troops from either side along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is now expected to continue into its second successive year.

While there was wide expectation that the talks would bring down tensions as a consensus on the Hot Springs flashpoint had almost been achieved, the PLA came with a different and hardened approach, taking back the negotiations by several notches.

"During the meeting, the Indian side made constructive suggestions for resolving the remaining areas but the Chinese side was not agreeable and also could not provide any forward-looking proposals. The meeting thus did not result in resolution of the remaining areas," according to an Indian Army statement after the talks.


The 13th round of Corps Commander-level talks at the Chushul-Moldo meeting point was one of the shortest between the two sides, with sources saying that the Chinese position was very different from previous meetings, with them questioning the legitimacy of the Indian border claims at the flashpoint.

Furthering souring the situation, the PLA released a statement after the talks, asking India to "cherish the hard won situation" in the border area and accusing it of making "unreasonable and unrealistic demands".

"The spokesperson pointed out that China is firm in its resolve to safeguard national sovereignty. He hoped that the Indian side should avoid misjudging the situation and cherish the hard-won situation in the China-India border areas," a Chinese press release, quoting the PLA spokesperson for Western Theatre Command, said.

This evoked a strong response from India, which pointed out that the entire situation in Ladakh was caused by unprovoked actions of the PLA and in violating standing bilateral agreements. "The Indian side pointed out that the situation along the LAC had been caused by unilateral attempts of the Chinese side to alter the status quo and in violation of the bilateral agreements. It was therefore necessary that the Chinese side take appropriate steps in the remaining areas to restore peace and tranquillity along the LAC in the Western Sector," the Indian statement read.

It added that the two sides have agreed to maintain communication and stability on the ground and the expectation is that China will work towards an early resolution of the remaining border issues as well.

The two different statements indicated that there has been no convergence of views, sources said, but added that room has been kept open for future talks. The two sides will continue with the talks. Sources said that the Chinese approach at the recent talks indicates that their main objective remains to alter unilaterally the Line of Actual Control in their favour particularly in the strategic Depsang Plains.

"The big picture emerging from the increased Chinese pressure at multiple points along the LAC and surge in the PLA deployment coupled with escalation of targeted attacks by the Pak-based terrorists in J&K, suggests that there is a well-coordinated Sino-Pak operational plan to keep the Indian security forces under severe pressure to achieve their ultimate goal," Dr SD Pradhan, ex-deputy NSA told ET.