As China continues to frustrate India's efforts to put Pakistan based Jaish-e- Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar on the international list of terrorist, the Indian and the Chinese military are now considering setting-up additional meeting points for troops along the 4000 odd KM Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Setting up of additional meeting points for the two militaries was discussed between a visiting 15 member delegation of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) from the Chengdu Command - Western Theatre Command of China – and the Indian Army here in New Delhi today.
The proposal came from China, sources said.
The Chinese delegation is being led by Major General Zhao Jin Song, Vice Chief of Staff of the Chengdu Command. They are in India for a five day visit. The Indian delegation is led by Additional Director General of Military Operations Major General YK Joshi.
"Leaders of two delegations discussed the importance of having regular bilateral exchanges and additional Border Personnel Meeting points."
Large tracts of the border are not marked on the map. Both sides simultaneously claim the same area, leading to face-offs and stand-offs between the two militaries. Border meeting points are used by the two militaries to sort of local issues and differing perception of where the India – China border lies.
Border transgressions along the un-demarcated border by the PLA have, however, drastically dipped as compared to previous years.
There are already five meeting points for the Indian Army and the Chinese PLA along the border. These include the border meeting points at Spanngur Gap at Chusul in eastern Ladakh, Bum-La near in Twang in Arunachal Pradesh and Nathu La in Sikkim. Two more meeting points were opened at Daulat Baig Oldie (DBO) on the disputed Depsang plains in sub-sector north (SSN) of eastern Ladakh and one at Kibithoo in far-eastern Arunachal Pradesh were opened last year.
The Indian Army in a guarded statement today said, "leaders of two delegations discussed the importance of having regular bilateral exchanges and additional Border Personnel Meeting points."
The India-China border runs across five states --Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh -- and is often described as "the most disputed yet most peaceful border" of the world. Despite the transgressions and face-offs, not a single shot has been fired by either of the militaries in decades. In 2013, the then UPA Government renegotiated a border management pact with Beijing -- Border Defence Agreement (BDCA). It carried forward many of the previous confidence building measures along border -- agreed to in 1993, 1996, 2005 and 2012.
The Indian Army also said that both sides "agreed that peace and tranquillity on the border is an important guarantor for development and continued growth of bilateral relations."
Also see on HuffPost:
