The latest round of talks comes after a gap of at least four months.
According to sources, the meeting will be held in continuation with the discussion of the disengagement from friction points along the Line of Control (LAC) in the region.
In continuation with the talks on disengagement along the LAC in eastern Ladakh, the 16th round of talks will be held on the Indian side at Chushul-Moldo Meeting Point on July 17, said the source.
As per sources, apart the focus on disengagement at Patrolling Point 15 in the Gogra-Hot Springs area, the effort would also be on to discuss disengagement from Demchok and Depsang, which have been sticking points in the last few rounds of talks.
Last week, India sought an early resolution of all outstanding issues on the LAC, with external affairs minister S Jaishankar pressing his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi to complete the disengagement of troops in order to restore peace and tranquility in border areas.
The border standoff between India and China in eastern Ladakh, which has cast a shadow over the bilateral relationship, entered its third year in May 2022. The Indian Army and China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) last held talks on the matter on March 11.
The gap between successive rounds of talks has been the longest since the standoff began in May 2020. Before this, the longest gap in talks was between the 11th and 12th rounds last year — three months and 22 days
A full resolution is still not in sight even though the two sides have had partial success in disengaging rival soldiers fr
The 15th round of the China-India Corps Commander Level Meeting was also held at the Chushul-Moldo border meeting point on the Indian side earlier this year on March 11.
Since the last round of talks, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has visited India in March while he and Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar met last week on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers' meeting in Bali, where they discussed the situation with regard to the LAC.
The two armies held eight rounds of talks in 2020, with the first held in June that year, five rounds in 2021, and two rounds so far this year.
Despite these talks, issues at Patrol Point-15 near Kongka La, Depsang Bulge in Daulet Beg Oldi sector and Charding Nullah Junction (CNJ) in Demchok sector are still on the negotiation table.
Over the last two years, India and China have hardened their stance on the LAC with increased military activity on both sides of the boundary, deployment of modern weaponry, infrastructure development, and a series of combat manoeuvres by both armies
