KATHMANDU : India and China are likely to hold a Corps Commander level talk next week as the situation remains tense along the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh.
According to Indian media, the meeting of Corps commander level between two Asian rivals will be the sixth one since June. The meeting is aimed at defusing border tensions that were triggered by a recent violent clash between the troops of two countries.
While the date and details of the meeting have not been announced yet, Indian media reports that the next round of talks at the Corps Commander-level between the two countries is likely to be held next week.
The most recent meeting of the corps commanders between the two countries was held on August 2, while the first meeting was held on June 6. However, the soldiers of two countries clashed in Galwan Valley nine days after the meeting where the military commanders agreed to disengage gradually from all the standoff points.
At least 23 Indian soldiers were killed in a brutal hand-to-hand-brawl between the soldiers of two countries in the Galwan Valley on June 15. While India claims that there were casualties among the Chinese as well, China has neither confirmed nor denied any death of its soldier.
Barring some accusations of provocations from both sides, there has not been any clash in recent weeks between the Chinese and Indian troops who are barely 500 meters away at some places along the border areas.
The fresh round of meeting between the military commanders of India and China also coincides with the five-point agreement between the foreign ministers of two countries on Thursday.
Following a meeting between India’s External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Thursday in Moscow on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting, the Foreign Ministers of the two countries agreed in a joint statement to not allow differences between them to become disputes.
According to the Indian Express, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a meeting with the military brass and the National Security Advisor (NSA) on Friday while the China Study Group, headed by NSA Ajit Doval, is holding a meeting following the return of External Affairs Minister Jaishankar. The CSG meeting is expected to work on the agenda and contours for the Corps Commander-level talks, states the Indian Express citing a government source.
