New Year: Indian, Chinese troops exchange sweets at border points

India and Chinese troops on Saturday exchanged sweets and greetings at several border posts along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) including in eastern Ladakh to mark the New Year, officials said.

The gesture by both sides came in the midst of an over 18 month-long standoff between the two sides in several friction points in eastern Ladakh.

The border posts where the two sides exchanged sweets and greetings are

Hot Springs and Demchok in eastern Ladakh and Nathula and Kongra La in North Sikkim, the officials said.

The eastern Ladakh border standoff between the Indian and Chinese militaries erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong lake areas.

Both sides gradually enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers as well as heavy weaponry.

As a result of a series of military and diplomatic talks, the two sides completed the disengagement process last year in the north and south banks of the Pangong lake and in the Gogra area.

Each side currently has around 50,000 to 60,000 troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the sensitive sector.

The 13th round of Corps Commander-level military talks in October ended in a stalemate with the Indian Army saying that the "constructive suggestions" made by it were not agreeable to the Chinese side.

The defence ministry on Friday said it held several rounds of military talks with the Chinese side to deescalate the situation in eastern Ladakh without compromising on its stand of 'complete disengagement and immediate restoration of status quo ante'.

India has been insisting on returning to the status quo that existed before the face-off took place in early May 2020.