On Monday, India and China will engage in their 19th round of military talks as part of ongoing attempts to de-escalate tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. These discussions will take place in Ladakh.
These discussions are taking place only a week before Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are scheduled to see one another in person at the BRICS leaders’ conference in South Africa.
According to a report by The Indian Express, the member of the Indian military who would serve as the head of the mission is Lieutenant General Rashim Bali.
According to the article, the most recent round of negotiations took place on April 23, only one day before a meeting of the defense ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
“Legacy friction points along the LAC in eastern Ladakh and ways to overcome the trust deficit between the two militaries were discussed,” it added. “Legacy friction points” refers to areas along the LAC that have been a source of conflict in the past.
According to the article, which cited government statements, “confidence-building measures, ensuring adherence to border protocols, sharing of patrol information to avoid clashes between troops, and ensuring adequate communication between the ground troops —along the LAC and at buffer zones — would be discussed.”
On September 9 and 10, this year, the G20 meeting will take place in India, and Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to be there.
Both the Minister of External Affairs, S. Jaishankar, and the National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval, had already spoken with the new Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, who took over for Qin Gang a month ago.
The officials from both India and China have met many times, but there is still no sign of a settlement in sight for the impasse that started in May of 2020.
According to the study, while India and China have been successful in completing disengagement in certain regions, there are still between 50,000 and 60,000 soldiers positioned on both sides of the India-China border.
It was noted that in September of last year, both sides drew back their soldiers to withdraw from Patrolling Point-15 in the Gogra-Hot Springs region of Eastern Ladakh, which was seen to be a positive step forward.
According to the study, “friction points such as Galwan Valley, north and south banks of Pangong Tso, and the Gogra-Hot Springs area, have seen some resolution with the creation of buffer zones.”