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As the 17-month standoff continues, both countries will station troops in the forward areas and spend the second cold winter.
The two sides stated that negotiations between Indian and Chinese military commanders to get the military out of the key friction zone on the border ended in a deadlock and failed to ease the 17-month deadlock, which sometimes leads to deadly conflicts.
The continued confrontation means that the two countries will station troops in the forward area of Ladakh for the second consecutive winter under dangerous freezing temperatures.
The Indian Ministry of Defense said in a statement on Monday that it had made “constructive suggestions”, but China “disagrees” and “cannot provide any forward-looking suggestions.”
The Chinese military spokesperson issued a statement stating that “India’s insistence on unreasonable and unrealistic demands has made negotiations more difficult.”
The commanders of the two armies held talks on Sunday in Moldo on the Chinese side of the Ladakh region two months later.
Both countries have tens of thousands of soldiers stationed on the de facto border known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC), supported by artillery, tanks, and fighter jets.
Since February, India and China have withdrawn troops from Pangong Co, Gogla, and some standoff locations on the north and south banks of the Galvan Valley, but they continue to maintain additional troops as part of a multi-level deployment.
Indian media reported that additional troops have been deployed in the Demchok and Depsang plains.
Sunday’s talks took place at a time when the Indian Army Chief of Staff expressed disappointment at what he called China’s large-scale deployment of troops and weapons.
“Yes, it is worrying that large-scale buildups have occurred and continue to exist. In order to maintain this buildup, China has carried out the same amount of infrastructure construction,” MM General Naravane said on Saturday.
“So, it means that they (China) will stay. We are watching all these developments closely, but if they stay, we will stay too,” he said.
Colonel Long Shaohua of the Chinese Western Theater Command issued a statement stating that “China is unwavering in its determination to safeguard its sovereignty and hopes that India will not misjudge the situation.”
The temperature in the Ladakh frontier dropped to -30 degrees Celsius (-22 degrees Fahrenheit) around January. The troops on both sides used to withdraw to their traditional summer holding positions, but they have stayed near the disputed border since the standoff began in May 2020.
Last year, 20 Indian soldiers clashed with Chinese soldiers on disputed borders, including sticks, stones and fists. China said it lost four soldiers.
LAC separates the Himalayan territory from Ladakh in the west to Arunachal Pradesh in the east of India. China has full sovereignty over it. In 1962, India and China fought a deadly war on the border.
Since the start of the confrontation last year, China has been building dozens of large weatherproof structures along the line of actual control in eastern Ladakh for their troops to stay in the winter. Indian media also reported new helipads, widened airstrips, new military camps, new surface-to-air missile bases and radar locations.
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