India and China have held several rounds of diplomatic and military talks in recent weeks
New Delhi:
Border tension between India and China was featured in a telephone conversation between Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and US Defense Secretary Mark T Esper today, sources said. The two have been in regular contact to discuss bilateral defense cooperation and matters of mutual interest, and today’s telephone call has been launched at the request of Mr. Esper, sources said. .
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China completed Thursday the withdrawal of its troops from the confrontation sites at Gogra and Hot Springs in eastern Ladakh, in accordance with the agreement concluded with the Indian army, and the two sides are expected to hold a high level of military talks aimed at further defusing tensions in the region, said people familiar with development.
They said the two sides have completed the creation of a three-kilometer buffer zone at the three friction points of the Galwan Valley, Gogra and Hot Springs as part of a temporary measure to reduce the possibility of any confrontation.
The two armies will also carry out a joint verification in the coming days to assess the implementation of the disengagement process.
The official disengagement process began Monday morning after an almost two-hour telephone conversation between national security adviser Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday.
The Indian and Chinese armies have been locked in a bitter deadlock in several places in eastern Ladakh for eight weeks. Tensions intensified after the Galwan Valley shock in which 20 Indian army personnel were killed.
The two sides have held several rounds of diplomatic and military talks over the past few weeks to ease tensions in the region.
