Flag meet between India, China military commanders fails to end stand-off in Ladakh

The face-off between the Indian Army and the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China continued on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) as a flag meeting between the local commanders held on Tuesday failed to resolve the differences.

China rejected India's contention that its troops had breached the sanctity of the LAC by setting up a tented post at Raki Nala, 30 km south of Daulat Beg Oldi in north Ladakh. The PLA, in fact, claimed that the Indian armymen were on an "aggressive patrol".

As of now, the two sides will hold on to their positions. The only consolation for India is that China has decided not to escalate the tension. The army is now looking at government-togovernment-level interaction to resolve the issue.

The foreign ministry has conveyed its objection to China. "We have asked the Chinese side to maintain the status quo in this sector (of the western border)," said Syed Akbaruddin, official spokesperson in the ministry of external affairs.

"We see this as a ‘face-to-face' situation between border personnel of two sides due to differences on their alignment of the LAC," the official said. Face-to-face situation is referred to the 2005 protocol for implementing confidence building measures (CBMs) in military field along the LAC.

Army chief's visit Army chief general Bikram Singh was on a scheduled visit to Nagrota, the headquarters of 16 corps, which guards the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.

The army chief met northern army commander Lt-General K.T. Parnaik, who heads the army in Jammu and Kashmir region.

Senior officers of the two armies have met twice since April 15, when a platoon of PLA set up a tented camp 10 km inside the Indian territory. The first flag meet on April 18 at Chishul in eastern Ladakh, too, failed to resolve the deadlock between the two countries.

Before the flag meeting, banner drills were also carried out, asking the Chinese troops to vacate the position. "This is our area, you are violating the LAC, go back," read the Indian banner. The banner drill is being practiced since 2005 to resolve misunderstandings about unmarked boundary.

Sources said the unusual aspect of the present stand-off is the refusal by the PLA to budge. In the past, the Chinese patrol used to leave the area after seeing the Indian banner.

The PLA's stand is also confusing as a number of high-level exchanges are lined up in the coming months to strengthen military ties. Defence minister A.K. Antony is scheduled to visit China sometime in June and an army delegation is preparing to leave for Beijing to discuss revival of military exercise "hand-inhand" after a gap of five years.

The Indian Army has described the situation as a "face-off" and moved troops from Ladakh Scouts into the area. The Indian soldiers have also pitched tents around 150 meters from the PLA platoon's post, comprising around 50 men. Foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai had summoned the Chinese ambassador to South Block.

Gautam Bambawale, joint secretary in MEA, who is heading the India-China joint working mechanism to deal with issues on the boundary from the Indian side, spoke to his counterpart in Beijing last week, stressing the need to resolve the row.

However, the Chinese have been adamant on their stand. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said on Monday that China's troops have been abiding by the agreement between the two countries. "Our troops are patrolling on the Chinese side of the LAC and have never trespassed the LAC," Lua said.

-With inputs from Saurabh Shukla

India Today