BackChina Study Group meets today to discuss Ladakh standoff
According to a person familiar with the matter, China had made some fresh proposals for the disengagement or front line troopsIndia has also taken some vantage positions on the north bank, according to a second person familiar with the matter though the Chinese are occupying Finger 4
PremiumNEW DELHI : The China Study Group, seen as the central and sole advisor to the government of India on policies related to China, met on Tuesday to discuss some proposals put forth by Beijing to bring down tensions along the common border in Ladakh.
According to two people familiar with the matter, the meeting of the China Study Group (CSG) lasted about 90 minutes. It consists of the National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Chief of Army Staff Manoj Mukund Naravane and others.
The meeting comes in the wake of the seventh round of India-China military commander level talks at Chushul on the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on Monday.
On Tuesday the two sides put out a joint statement that did not give any indication that they were close to a breakthrough. Tensions have been running high since May when India first detected multiple intrusions by China into Ladakh.
“They (the Indian and Chinese commanders) were of the view that these (Monday’s) discussions were positive, constructive and had enhanced understanding of each other’s positions," the statement said.
The exchanges on Monday were “sincere, in-depth and constructive" on disengagement along the Line of Actual Control, it said.
“ Both sides agreed to maintain dialogue and communication through military and diplomatic channels, and arrive at a mutually acceptable solution for disengagement as early as possible," the joint statement said.
According to a person familiar with the matter, China had made some fresh proposals for the disengagement or front line troops. But the person declined to give any details.
Speculation has it that the new proposals relate to both sides pulling back troops around the banks of the Pangong Tso lake that has emerged as a key flash point in the tensions that first arose in May. India had previously refused to pull back from vantage positions it had occupied on the south bank of the Pangong Tso lake preempting Chinese moves there. India has also taken some vantage positions on the north bank, according to a second person familiar with the matter though the Chinese are occupying Finger 4, one of eight mountain spurs jutting into the Pangong Tso lake. This was seen as an area under Indian control previously.
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