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Agencies

No meaningful outcome of India-China talks on Ladakh standoff: Rajnath Singh
30-December-2020

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said that no "meaningful solution" has come out of diplomatic and military level talks with China to resolve the standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, news agency ANI reported.

Rajnath said that if status quo continues, there cannot be a reduction in the deployment of troops.

"It is true that in order to reduce the standoff between India and China, talks were taking place on a military and diplomatic level. But no success has been achieved so far. There will be a next round of talks on a military level which can take place anytime. But no meaningful outcome has come and there is status quo," he told ANI.

"If there is a status quo, it is natural how deployment can be reduced. There will be no reduction in our deployment," the minister said, adding that "I don't think that status-quo is a positive development at all".

According to his claim, hotline messages have been exchanged between the two Asian giants.

Notably, the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) meeting on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) held virtually on December 18. According to the MEA, both sides agreed to maintain close consultations at the diplomatic and military level after the WMCC meeting.

The next round of military talks are expected to take place soon.

Rajnath had earlier said India's armed forces stood up to aggression along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh and fought the Chinese military with "utmost bravery", forcing it to go back.