Indian Ambassador to China Discusses Ladakh with CPC Official

Vikram Misri’s meeting with Liu Jianchao came amidst diplomatic and military-level talks between India and China on the disengagement of troops from all friction points in eastern Ladakh.

Beijing: Indian Ambassador to China Vikram Misri, on Wednesday, held talks with a senior official of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) and discussed the situation at the border in eastern Ladakh and overall bilateral relations.

Misri’s meeting with Liu Jianchao, deputy director of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China’s Central Foreign Affairs Commission, came amidst diplomatic and military-level talks between India and China on the disengagement of troops from all friction points in eastern Ladakh.

“Ambassador @VikramMisri today met H.E. Liu Jianchao, Deputy Director of the Office of the CPC Central Committee Foreign Affairs Commission and briefed him on India’s stance vis-a-vis the situation on the borders in eastern Ladakh UT and overall bilateral relations,” the Embassy of India in China tweeted.

No further details of the meeting were available.

Misri’s meeting with Liu comes against the backdrop of reports that the disengagement process between the troops of the two countries has not moved forward as expected along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh.

At the latest round of military 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 May 5 when the standoff began following a clash between the two armies in Pangong Tso.

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The Chinese People’s Liberation Army has pulled back from Galwan Valley and certain other friction points but its troops had not withdrawn from the Finger areas in Pangong Tso, Gogra and Depsang as demanded by India, according to sources in New Delhi.

India has been insisting that China must withdraw its forces from areas between Finger Four and Eight. The mountain spurs in the area are referred to as Fingers.

The formal process of disengagement of troops began on July 6, a day after a nearly two-hour telephonic conversation between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on ways to bring down tensions in the area.