[ad_1]
Top Indian and Chinese military leaders met on Monday to discuss stabilizing tensions along the Royal Line of Control (LAC), the loosely defined demarcation line that separates the two countries.
In a joint statement, both sides agreed to strengthen communication on the ground to avoid misunderstandings or actions “that may complicate the situation.”
They also agreed not to take any unilateral action to change the situation on the ground, according to the statement.
Another round of high-level military meetings will be held “as soon as possible,” the statement said.
At least 20 Indian soldiers were killed in that incident, the deadliest border conflict with China in more than 40 years. China has never recognized victims of that clash.
India and China share a 3,379 kilometer (2,100 mile) long border in the Himalayas, but both sides claim territory on both sides.
The most recent dispute was over Pangong Tso, a strategically located lake some 14,000 feet (4,200 meters) above sea level that stretches from the Indian territory of Ladakh to China’s controlled Tibet in the Kashmir region. where India, China and Pakistan claim territory.
The Royal Line of Control, which marks the de facto border and runs across the lake, was established in the wake of the Sino-Indian War of 1962. Although it appears on maps, India and China disagree on its precise location and both are they regularly accuse of exceeding it or seeking to expand their territory.
In 1996, the two countries signed an agreement that states that neither side will open fire within a 2 kilometer (1.24 mile) radius of LAC to “prevent dangerous military activities.”
CNN’s Nectar Gan, Swati Gupta, and James Griffiths contributed.
[ad_2]