The situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC)in eastern Ladakh remained 'very fragile' and is 'quite dangerous' in military assessment because of close deployments of troops of both sides in some pockets though substantial progress has been made in the disengagement process in many areas, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday.
The ministry of external affairs on Wednesday said the talks were held in an "open and constructive manner" for an early and mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues.
Sources said the exercise is aimed at checking the IAF's overall combat capability and military preparedness in the region.
The meeting primarily focused on implementation of certain decisions taken at the fifth round of talks between Corps Commanders of the two armies last week on the disengagement process as well as to bring down prevailing tension in the region, sources said.
Throughout its standoff with India along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Chinese officials sought to downplay the severity of the crisis, emphasising Beijing's intent to preserve border stability and prevent the standoff from harming other areas of its bilateral relationship with India, the Pentagon said in a report on Tuesday.
India and China held two days of military talks in an "open and constructive manner" for an early and mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh and agreed to maintain peace on the ground.
China defends its construction of a dam on the Brahmaputra river in Tibet, addressing concerns from India and Bangladesh about its potential impact on water flow and the environment.
China on Wednesday said the latest round of the border talks with India was held in a "candid and pragmatic atmosphere" and the two sides had a "positive, constructive and in-depth discussion" on the resolution of the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control in the Western Sector.
Sources said the Indian troops resolutely confronted the Chinese PLA soldiers.
In their first structured bilateral talks in nearly five years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping Wednesday agreed that India and China can have a 'peaceful and stable' relationship by displaying maturity and mutual respect and endorsed the pact on the resolution of the dragging eastern Ladakh border row.
The Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) was established in 2012 as an institutional mechanism for consultation and coordination for the maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the border areas.
The Indian Army began patrolling at Demchok on Friday, days after Indian and Chinese troops completed disengagement at the two friction points in eastern Ladakh, Army sources said.
India on Thursday said that ensuring a comprehensive disengagement of troops in all the friction areas in eastern Ladakh is the 'immediate task', remarks that came ahead of another round of military talks with China on the border standoff.
The exchange took place at five Border Personnel Meeting points along the LAC, the sources added.
It was for the first time that the high-level military talks on the lingering border row spanned two days.
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The transgression took place on August 30, and the Chinese troops returned from the area after spending few hours, they said.
The stand by China spelt out by its foreign ministry insisting that it takes the 1959 line on perception of the LAC amid a nearly five-month-long border standoff in eastern Ladakh triggered a strong reaction from India.
The Chinese aircraft have been regularly flying close to the LAC in the last three to four weeks which is seen as an attempt to probe the Indian defence mechanism in the area.
The two sides agreed that the next round of military dialogue should be held at an early date.
Jaishankar said China, in violation of the 1993 and 1996 agreements not to mass troops on the Line of Actual Control, chose to do so, and added that its attempt was obviously to unilaterally change the LAC.
Disengagement of Indian and Chinese troops has started at two friction points in Demchok and Depsang Plains in the Eastern Ladakh sector, defence officials said.
India is preparing to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet, after a three-year hiatus. The decision comes as part of efforts to improve relations between India and China, which have been strained since a military standoff in 2020. The two countries have also agreed in principle to resume flight services between them.
This is Gen Pande's first visit to the sector after taking over as the chief of the Indian Army on April 30.
Xi asked about their condition and whether they were able to "receive fresh vegetables" in the inhospitable terrain.
Rajnath Singh asserted that India has every capability to thwart challenges along the border to protect the country's territory.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday pledged to strengthen the strategic relationships with neighbouring countries by 'appropriately' managing differences and enhancing supply chain ties as China's tariff war with the United States escalated.
India and China on Monday held a fresh round of military talks with a focus on disengagement of troops in the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh and ease overall tensions in the region.
Jaishankar said India had agreements with China not to mass force in the border areas.
The capture of the Chinese soldier comes in the midst of an eight-month-long bitter border standoff between the two armies in eastern Ladakh.
Chief of defence staff Bipin Rawat on Thursday said the controversy about the Chinese coming into the Indian territory and building a new village is 'not true,' and that the villages were well within the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control.
In a meeting on the sidelines of the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Dushanbe on Thursday, the two foreign ministers exchanged views on the current situation in the region and agreed that military and diplomatic officials of both sides should meet again and discuss resolving the remaining issues at the earliest.
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is likely to travel to Beijing within the next few weeks to lead the Indian delegation at a new edition of the Special Representatives dialogue on the larger boundary question that will be held after a gap of nearly five years, authoritative sources said.
India and China agreed during their military talks on Sunday to stay in close touch and work out a mutually acceptable solution to the "remaining issues" in eastern Ladakh at the earliest, but there was no indication of clear forward movement in ending their three-year-long border standoff.
This meeting is taking place after a gap of around four months.
Chinese military has also deployed a sizeable number of its troops in Galwan Valley, the site of the violent clashes on June 15 that left 20 Indian soldiers dead.
The MEA said there has not been any change in India's position on the LAC and the mutual redeployment as a result of the disengagement process should not be misrepresented.
If China is accommodating regarding Depsang and Demchok, a resolution of the Sino-India territorial dispute in Eastern Ladakh could be possible.
Since the June 15 clash, the PLA has inducted large numbers of troops, armoured vehicles and artillery along the LAC, from Depsang and Galwan in northern Ladakh to Hot Springs, Pangong Tso, and Chushul in central Ladakh, to Demchok and Chumar in southern Ladakh.
A joint statement released on Thursday said both sides exchanged views in an 'open and constructive' manner to resolve the 'relevant issues' and that it was agreed to maintain 'security and stability' on the ground in the region.
