NEW DELHI: Indian army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane said on Friday he was confident the ongoing border standoff with China could be resolved through talks.
“We are sure the problem can be resolved fully through talks,” Naravane said during a visit to the Ladakh region, where troops from the two countries have been squaring off for months.
India accuses China of violating bilateral agreements by pushing its troops through the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the de facto border in the snow deserts of Ladakh.
“The situation along the LAC is slightly tense,” Naravane said, adding India had deployed additional troops in some areas to stall any attempted Chinese incursions.
China, however, blamed India of trespassing in the LAC late last month, saying the “move has grossly violated China’s territorial sovereignty”, according to a Chinese Embassy spokesperson in New Delhi.
Possible Moscow meeting
Indian and Chinese media on Friday reported a possible meeting between the defence ministers of both countries in Moscow, where they are attending a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation gathering.
A spokesman for India’s defence ministry said he had no information on a likely meeting, which would be the first face-to-face talks between senior Indian and Chinese officials since the standoff intensified after a clash between troops in June.