MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th July, 2022) India has again asked China to withdraw Chinese troops from disputed territories near the India-China border in eastern Ladakh, newspaper Times of India reported on Monday.
The 16th round of top military talks on the border settlement was held at the Chushul Moldo border post in the eastern part of the Indian territory of Ladakh on Sunday morning and ended in the evening of the same day, the newspaper reported.
Official information on the results of the negotiations has not yet been announced, according to the report.
India calls on China to remove its military personnel and dismantle their tent camps on two disputed sections of the border, where they remain since clashes that took place between the two countries in 2020. It also wants a halt in Chinese military flights near the disputed sections and the return to the Indian side the right to patrol the border in disputed areas, the newspaper said, citing unnamed source.
The newspaper cited the source as expressing optimism about the results of negotiations on the disengagement of troops in one of the disputed areas, where small military units of up to 50 military personnel from both sides are in direct contact.
In 2019, the Indian government announced its decision to strip the Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir region of its special status and split it into two union territories � Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. The decision provoked a harsh backlash from neighboring Pakistan, which said that New Delhi was mistreating the region's Muslim population that was fighting for its rights. India, in turn, has accused Islamabad of backing separatists, who allegedly undermine the region's security.
India controls the southern part of the Kashmir region, while Pakistan and China occupy its northwestern and northeastern parts, respectively.
