New Delhi: India and China had agreed not to further escalate the border situation through a series of measures, which significantly include not sending more troops to forward areas, but a tangible breakthrough on de-escalation eluded a marathon military commander-level talks on Monday.

The test of the joint statement issued on Tuesday will lie in actual Chinese actions in dis-engaging and de-escalating along the LAC in eastern Ladakh, in accordance with the condensers reached between external minister S. Jai Shankar and Chinese external minister Wang Yi in Moscow on September 10.

The 14 hour dialogue on Monday, between delegations led by 14 corps commander Lt-General Harinder Singh and South Xinjiang military district chief major general Liu Lin, did not lead to any forward movement in defusing the almost five month long troop confrontation, said sources. But the joint statement signaled a more positive outcome, with the two countries agreeing to earnestly implement the important consensus reached earlier between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and president Xi Jin Ping to maintain peace along with the LAC.

As per the joint statement on Tuesday, the two armies will refrain from unilaterally changing the situation on the ground and taking any actions that may complicate matters. They will also strengthen communication the local commanders to avoid mis-understandings and mis-judgments. The two sides agreed to hold the seventh round of military command level meeting as soon as possible.