INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
After marathon 14-hour talks between India and China at the Corps Commander level on Monday, both sides today released a joint statement
saying that two countries had decided to stop sending more troops to the frontline in eastern Ladakh.The joint statement from India and
China stated that both sides will enhance communication to avoid misunderstandings and also implement the five-point consensus reached by
foreign ministers S Jaishankar and Wang Yi at the sidelines of the SCO summit in Moscow earlier this month."On September 21, the Indian and
Chinese Senior Commanders held the 6th round, They agreed to earnestly implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two
countries, strengthen communication on the ground, avoid misunderstandings and misjudgments, stop sending more troops to the frontline,
refrain from unilaterally changing the situation on the ground, and avoid taking any actions that may complicate the situation," the
statement said.India and China will soon also be holding the 7th round of Corps Commander-level talks to resolve the border faceoff in
Ladakh, the statement added."The two sides also agreed to hold the 7th round of Military Commander-Level Meeting as soon as possible, take
practical measures to properly solve problems on the ground, and jointly safeguard peace and tranquillity in the border area," said the
statement.The India-China joint statement came mere hours after Chinese President Xi Jinping addressed the opening session of the United
Nations General Assembly and asserted that China has no intentions to start a cold or hot war with any country.14 HOURS TALKS BRING
CONSENSUSThe decision to stop sending additional troops was taken after the sixth round of Corps Commander-level talks that took place on
Monday in Moldo on the Chinese side.The sixth round of military talks between India and China that lasted 14 hours focused on ways to defuse
rising tensions along the treacherous and high-altitude friction points in eastern Ladakh considering the approaching harsh winter, sources
said.The Indian delegation for the first time had a representative from the Ministry of External Affairs as part of the military talks
Joint Secretary in MEA Navin Srivastava was part of the talks between India and China.Another addition was Lt Gen PGK Menon from the Army HQ
He is tipped to be the next Commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps that is currently headed by Lt Gen Harinder Singh, who has been heading the
Indian delegation in the military level talks.As senior army commanders of India and China held talks on implementing a five-point agreement
reached between the two countries on disengagement of troops and de-escalation of the situation in eastern Ladakh, government sources said
India told China to also pull back first along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).The sources said the agenda for the talks was to chart a
specific timeline for implementation of the five-point agreement."Since China made the first move, they should pull back first and it will
be reciprocated by India," government sources told India Today TV.India also raised the issue of immediate disengagement in Pangong Tso
finger areas, Hot Springs and Depsang.China, on the other hand, has asked India to vacate the unmanned mountain tops it has occupied in the
last few days.The government sources said the talks began at around 9 am in Moldo on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC)
across India's Chushul sector in eastern Ladakh and ended at 11 PM.The two sides also mentioned about the harsh winter in the Ladakh region
beginning October when temperatures fall upto minus 25 degree and oxygen becomes scarce, the sources said.At the previous five rounds of
Corps commander-level talks, the Indian side insisted on complete disengagement of Chinese troops at the earliest, and immediate restoration
of status quo ante in all areas of eastern Ladakh prior to April.The fifth round of Corps commander talks on August 2 lasted for nearly 11
hours while the fourth round went on for nearly 15 hours on July 14.
