India - China: Outcome of 19th Round of Military Talks Reflects Deep Freeze in Relations
STORIES, ANALYSES, EXPERT VIEWS
India and China Monday held the 19th round of military talks with a focus on building greater confidence with each other and avoiding clashes between the troops of both sides through strict adherence to border protocols and sharing of patrol information.
The meeting took place at the Indian side of the Chushul-Moldo border meeting point. The Indian delegation was led by 14 Corps Commander Lt Gen Rashim Bali.
No immediate breakthrough
India and China agreed to resolve the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh in an “expeditious manner” besides maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas, a joint statement said August 15, a day after conclusion of the dialogue.
The readout on the 19th round of India-China Corps Commander-level meeting did not indicate any immediate breakthrough in disengagement of troops in remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh.
It was for the first time, the high-level military talks on the lingering border row spanned two days, people familiar with the matter said, adding the duration of the discussions totalled around 17 hours over the two days.
MEA readout
The statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the two sides exchanged views in an “open and forward looking manner” in line with the guidance provided by the leadership.
“The two sides had a positive, constructive and in-depth discussion on the resolution of the remaining issues along the LAC in the Western Sector. In line with the guidance provided by the leadership, they exchanged views in an open and forward looking manner,” it said.
“They agreed to resolve the remaining issues in an expeditious manner and maintain the momentum of dialogue and negotiations through military and diplomatic channels,” it said.
“In the interim, the two sides agreed to maintain the peace and tranquility on the ground in the border areas,” the statement added.
It is learnt that the Indian side strongly pressed for resolving the lingering issues at Depsang and Demchok.
A statement issued by the MEA following the 18th round of military talks in April said that “the two sides agreed to stay in close contact and maintain dialogue through military and diplomatic channels and work out a mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues at the earliest.” The government refers to eastern Ladakh as the Western Sector.
India’s agenda as per defence sources
According to defence sources India pressed for access to all old patrolling points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) early disengagement at the remaining friction points including legacy ones such as Depsang Plains and Demchok in the meeting. An overall de-escalation of troops in the Ladakh region was also part of the agenda.
Complete access to old patrolling points: As per sources, it was discussed that various confidence building measures would be continued to reduce trust deficit between both sides. ‘Till a decision on providing complete access to old patrolling points along the LAC is arrived at, the sanctity of buffer zones would be maintained and the finer details on limit of patrolling in these areas would be worked out,’ a defence source said.
In September last year, both sides pulled back troops to disengage from Patrolling Point-15 in the Gogra-Hot Springs area of Eastern Ladakh, marking a step forward in the military standoff between the two sides which began in May 2020.
Friction points such as Galwan Valley, north and south banks of Pangong Tso and the Gogra-Hot Springs area have seen some resolution in the last three years with the creation of buffer zones.
The last round of talks was held on April 23 ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ meeting.
The meeting comes just about a week before the BRICS leaders’ summit which Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Africa will be attending. Chinese President Xi is also scheduled to visit India for the G20 summit on September 9 and 10 this year.
50,000-60,000 troops remain deployed on both sides of the India-China border.
Deep freeze characterises present relations
Given that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping will both be in Johannesburg later this month to participate in the Brics summit, and Beijing will send a leader — Xi has not confirmed his presence yet — to New Delhi next month for the G20 summit, The Hindustan Times writes “there was great anticipation surrounding these talks, especially for some sort of breakthrough that could help set up a bilateral meeting on the margins of the upcoming summits. The anodyne joint statement marred these hopes, and reflected the deep freeze that now characterises the ties between the two Asian giants.”
Unprecedented border buildup
The Indian Express notes that the over three years of border standoff “has led to an unprecedented buildup of troops on both sides. Over the last three years, the Indian Air Force is estimated to have airlifted nearly 70,000 troops and heavy platforms including tanks, artillery guns weighing over 9,000 tonnes as part of efforts towards enhancing the overall operational preparedness in eastern Ladakh. The government has been making the case for the last couple of weeks that it has built infrastructure in the border areas over the last nine years, which has led to faster deployment of forces since the standoff….”
A window of opportunity still exists
The paper however, writes that a window of opportunity still “exists between now and Chinese President Xi’s visit to India for the G20 summit. India has made it clear so far that the border standoff affects bilateral relations, and only a complete de-escalation will lead to normalcy in the ties. While disengagement at the specific friction points can be achieved, a broader de-escalation will take time. That is because troops and equipment will take time to be moved from the border areas. In that sense, this standoff is more complicated than the recent ones in the last 10 years. It is similar to the Sumdorong Chu standoff in 1986-87, which took almost seven years to completely disengage and de-escalate.”
Since there is a view on India that the border standoff was at the directions of the political leadership in Beijing and not a local military operation, “Delhi must not budge and demand complete withdrawal of troops and de-escalation, before it normalises ties. Xi’s visit next month gives India some leverage; the government must use it.”
