Indian envoy discusses eastern Ladakh, bilateral ties with CPC official

Vikram Misri met Liu Jianchao, Deputy Director of the Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee Foreign Affairs Commission

Indian Ambassador to China, Vikram Misri on Wednesday held talks with a senior official of the country's ruling Communist Party here and discussed the situation at the border in eastern Ladakh and overall bilateral relations.

Misri's meeting with Liu Jianchao, Deputy Director of the Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee Foreign Affairs Commission came amidst diplomatic and military-level talks between India and China on disengagment of troops from all friction points in eastern Ladakh.

"Ambassador @VikramMisri today met H.E. Liu Jianchao, Deputy Director of the Office of the CPC Central Committee Foreign Affairs Commission and briefed him on India's stance vis-a-vis the situation on the borders in eastern Ladakh UT and overall bilateral relations, the Indian Embassy tweeted.

No further details of the meeting were available.

Misri's meeting with Liu comes against the backdrop of reports that the disengagement process between the troops of the two countries has not moved forward as expected along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.

At the latest round of military talks, the Indian side insisted forcefully on complete disengagement of Chinese troops at the earliest, and immediate restoration of status quo ante in all areas of eastern Ladakh prior to May 5 when the standoff began following a clash between the two armies in Pangong Tso.

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) has pulled back from Galwan Valley and certain other friction points but the withdrawal of its troops has not moved forward from the Finger areas in Pangong Tso, Gogra and Depsang as demanded by India, according to sources in New Delhi.

India has been insisting that China must withdraw its forces from areas between Finger Four and Eight. The mountain spurs in the area are referred to as Fingers.

The formal process of disengagement of troops began on July 6, a day after a nearly two-hour telephonic conversation between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on ways to bring down tensions in the area.