The third flag meeting on Tuesday between India and China in ladakh to resolve the situation arising out of the Chinese incursion inside the Indian territory remained inconclusive.
India rejected a Chinese suggestion that both sides should shift their troops now engaged in the stand-off as the first step to ease tension. At the meeting between Brigadier-level officers from the two sides held in Chushul, China proposed to increase the gap between the two troops at the face-off site in Depsang Valley.
However, India turned it down and sought unconditional withdrawal of Chinese troops to the position held by them across the line of Actual Control (lAC) on April 15. It was the day when the Chinese came 19 kms inside ladakh and set up tented posts.
India also drew the attention of Chinese officials to the 2005 protocol on border signed by the two countries which stipulated that the intruding patrol will immediately return when shown a banner by the other side pointing out that it is their territory, sources said here. Two earlier flag meetings on the issue last week had failed to yield any outcome.
Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid kept his options of visiting Beijing open on May 9. Khurshid said here on Tuesday: “As of now there is no plan to cancel my visit to prepare grounds for Chinese Premier li Keqiang’s visit to New Delhi on May 20.”
His statement came in the backdrop of the BJP and the Samajwadi Party asking the Government not to send Khurshid to Beijing to register India’s protest over the Chinese incursion.
“Can I cancel my visitIJ The Government has to decide. There is no such decision and there is no reason we should do that, but you know one week is a long time in politics, so let’s move forward,” Khurshid told reporters outside Parliament.
In a related effort to address the issue, Defence Minister AK Antony discussed the ongoing efforts with the three Service Chiefs and National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon and emphasised that India will take every step to safeguard its interests there.
Addressing the Unified Commanders’ Conference, he said the current situation in ladakh is “not one of our creation” and India wanted a peaceful solution through dialogue within the framework of agreements for maintaining peace and tranquility.
He said India’s ties with “China are, at times, bedevilled by border issues, particularly along the line of Actual Control (lAC). The recent developments are no exception.”