India and China failed to make any headway in resolving the remaining issues in eastern Ladakh at the 13th round of military talks, with the Indian Army saying on Monday that the "constructive suggestions" made by it were not agreeable to the Chinese side.
In a statement that indicated the hardening of its position on the matter, the Army said the meeting on Sunday did not result in the resolution of the issues in the remaining areas and that the Indian side emphasised that it expects the Chinese side to work towards it.
"During the meeting, the Indian side, therefore, made constructive suggestions for resolving the remaining areas but the Chinese side was not agreeable and also could not provide any forward-looking proposals. The meeting thus did not result in resolution of the remaining areas," the Army said in a statement.
The talks took place at the Chushul-Moldo border point on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh on Sunday and they lasted for around eight and half hours.
"It was, therefore, necessary that the Chinese side take appropriate steps in the remaining areas so as to restore peace and tranquillity along the LAC in the Western sector," it said.
The Indian side also referred to the talks between the Chinese and Indian foreign ministers last month in Tajikistan's capital Dushanbe on the sidelines of the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
"This would also be in accord with the guidance provided by the two foreign ministers in their recent meeting in Dushanbe where they had agreed that the two sides should resolve the remaining issues at the earliest," the Indian Army said.
"The Indian side emphasised such resolution of the remaining areas would facilitate progress in the bilateral relations," it added.
The Indian delegation also emphasised that a resolution of the remaining issues would facilitate progress in the bilateral relations.
The Army said the two sides have agreed to maintain communications and also stability on the ground.
"It is our expectation that the Chinese side will take into account the overall perspective of bilateral relations and will work towards early resolution of the remaining issues while fully abiding by bilateral agreements and protocols," it said. It is learned that the Indian side took up the stalled disengagement at Patrolling Point 15 (PP-15) as well as issues in Depsang.
