India-China stand-off: No breakthrough on pullback in meeting between Corps Commanders

India has all along been maintaining that the onus is on China to carry forward the process of disengagement

The eighth meeting of the senior military commanders of India and China did not result in any significant headway in ending the stalemate over the withdrawal of troops from the face-off points along the disputed boundary between the two nations in eastern Ladakh.

The senior commanders of the Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), however, agreed to continue dialogue to resolve the six-month-long military stand-off along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) – the de facto boundary between the two neighbouring nations in the western sector.

They also agreed to ensure that the troops deployed on the forward positions exercise restraint and take measures to avoid misunderstanding that could lead to the escalation of tension, according to a joint press release issued in New Delhi and Beijing on Sunday.

The senior military commanders of the two nations held the eighth round of talks near the LAC last Friday. Lt Gen P G K Menon, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 14 Corps, led the delegation of the Indian Army. Maj Gen Liu Lin led the delegation of the Chinese PLA.

The two governments stated in a joint press release issued in New Delhi and Beijing that the senior military commanders had held “candid, in-depth and constructive exchange of views on disengagement along the LAC in the western sector of India-China border areas.”

They agreed to “earnestly implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries (Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Chinese President Xi Jinping), ensure their frontline troops to exercise restraint and avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation”.

The two sides also agreed to maintain dialogue and communication through military and diplomatic channels, and, taking forward the discussions at the eighth round of meetings, push for the settlement of other outstanding issues, so as to jointly maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas.”

They also agreed to have another round of meeting soon.

The sixth round of talks between the senior commanders of the Indian Army and the Chinese PLA on October 12 saw both sides agreeing to stop further deployment of soldiers on the face-off scenes. They, however, could not reach an agreement to restart the stalled process of pulling back soldiers already deployed on the LAC.

The disengagement process the two sides had mutually agreed upon remained stalled since mid-July with the Chinese PLA declining to completely withdraw troops from several “points of friction” along the LAC – like Depsang Y junction, Gogra Post and the northern bank of Pangong Tso.