LAC standoff: India, China agree to work out a mutually acceptable solution | What's next

With no major breakthrough, India and China agreed to stay in close touch and work out a mutually acceptable solution to the "remaining issues" in eastern Ladakh at the earliest. However, there was no indication of clear forward movement in ending their three-year-long border standoff, news agency PTI reported.India and China held the 18th round of Corps Commander Level talks at the Chushul-Moldo meeting point on the Chinese side on Sunday, seeking to resolve the three-year-old military standoff.The meeting was led by Fire and Fury Corps Commander Lt Gen Rashim Bali from the Indian side and an equivalent rank officer from the Chinese side, defence sources were quoted by ANI as saying.This meeting took place after a gap of five months. The last meeting between the two sides at the Corps Commander level was held in December last year.What was discussed in the India-China meetThe Ministry of External Affairs released a statement on Monday, saying that the two sides had a "frank and in-depth" discussion on the resolution of the "relevant" issues along the Line of Actual Control in the Western sector. The government refers to eastern Ladakh as the Western sector."The two sides agreed to stay in close contact and maintain dialogue through military and diplomatic channels and work out a mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues at the earliest," the MEA said.The press release further read: "In line with the guidance provided by the state leaders and further to the meeting between the two foreign ministers in March 2023, they had an exchange of views in an open and candid manner.""In the interim, the two sides agreed to maintain the security and stability on the ground in the Western Sector," the MEA said.People familiar with the talks told PTI the Indian side insisted on resolving the issues at the remaining friction points of Demchok and Depsang in eastern Ladakh as soon as possible.Meanwhile, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said, "According to the important common understanding of the leaders of both countries, the two sides held an in-depth exchange of views on expediting the resolution of relevant issues. I refer you to the competent authorities for more details."India-China tiesIndia has been maintaining that its ties with China cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areas. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had earlier said the India-China relations are "abnormal" when he met his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang on the sidelines of a conclave of the G20 grouping in New Delhi.What has happened so farThe corps commander-level talks have been started to resolve the matters between the two sides in the eastern Ladakh area after the Chinese side allegedly tried to alter the status quo on the Line of Actual Control by aggressively moving forward with heavy weaponry and a large number of troops in 2020.The ties between the two countries have nosedived significantly since the clashes. Later, the Corps Commander-level talks were instituted to resolve the eastern Ladakh row.In line with a decision taken at the 16th round of military talks, the two sides carried out disengagement from Patrolling Point 15 in the Gogra-Hotsprings area in September last year.As a result of a series of military and diplomatic talks, the two sides have completed the disengagement process on the north and south banks of the Pangong Lake and in the Gogra area.Disengagement has taken place at Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso, Gogra and Hot Springs . India and China have not been able to agree on their 3,500 km long border since the war in 1962, Reuters reported.What's next?Sunday's talks took place just days ahead of Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu's planned visit to India to attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation on April 27 and 28.All eyes are now on the bilateral meeting between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Chinese counterpart General Li Shangfu. The two ministers will meet on April 27, a day before the main SCO conclave.