China says working to de-escalate standoff; but building border camps

Amid reports of China having built new establishments in disputed regions near the India border, a senior Beijing official said that the two nations are working to further de-escalate the border standoff in eastern Ladakh. He said on Tuesday both India and China will discuss the arrangements for the next round of talks, according to news agency PTI.

On November 6, the eighth round of Corps Commander-level talks was held between the troops of the two countries in a bid to resolve the border standoff.

“China and India have been in communication through diplomatic and military channels on the border issue and we are working for further de-escalation of the border situation,” said Chinese Foreign Minister Spokesperson Hua Chunying on being asked at a media briefing when the next round of talks will be held.

“Based on the implementation of current consensus, we’ll have consultations to determine specific arrangements for further talks,” she said.

Related news | India accuses China of helping Northeast rebels with guns, training

India and China are currently engaged in a bitter standoff at the Line of Actual Control with nearly 50,000 troops of Indian Army being deployed in a high state of combat readiness in various mountainous locations in eastern Ladakh in sub-zero conditions. Officials suggest China too has deployed an equal number of troops at the border.

So far, multiple rounds of talks between the two sides have been held, but not yielded any concrete outcome to resolve the border standoff.

However, amid ongoing talks, reports of China going on with building establishments near the border has raised alert for Indian agencies. The Asian neighbour has built three villages along the Arunachal Pradesh frontier, though within its own territory, in a probable attempt at strengthening its territorial claims in the region, NDTV had reported.

Besides, the Chinese have also began military camps in depth areas near the LAC to boost their battle readiness against India, reported India Today. They’ve built 20 such camps in their depth areas near the LAC to aid border operations, it quoted sources as saying. Such structures are being seen as China’s strategic response following the 2017 Dokalam crisis.

Related news | Ready to tackle Chinese aggression at LAC: Naval chief Karambir Singh