On August 15, a joint statement announced that India and China have committed to resolving the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh promptly. The statement emphasises the importance of maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas. This comes after the conclusion of a dialogue between the two countries.
Latest Round Of India-China Border Talks: Key Points
- The 19th round of the India-China Corps Commander Level Meeting took place on the Indian side at the Chushul-Moldo border meeting point from the 13th to the 14th of August.
- According to a press release from the Ministry of External Affairs, the two sides engaged in a productive and comprehensive discussion regarding the resolution of remaining issues along the LAC in the Western Sector. Aligned with the guidance of their leadership, they exchanged views in a candid and forward-thinking manner.
- The 19th round of talks took place in the run-up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi attending the Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (Brics) Summit in South Africa’s Johannesburg on August 22-24.
- The border negotiations come after the 18th round of talks held in April 2023. Thus far, both parties have strategically withdrawn their military forces from multiple locations along their disputed border since the onset of the crisis in May 2020.
- Disengagements have taken place near Gogra, Galwan Hot Springs and Pangong Tso. However, troops remain in a standoff near Depsang and Demchok.
- In September 2022, the most recent disengagement from PP-15 occurred, following a breakthrough in July 2022 during the 16th round of military talks.
- The ongoing issues at Depsang in the Daulet Beg Oldi sector and Charding Nullah Junction (CNJ) in the Demchok sector are currently being discussed and negotiated.
- Diplomatic relations have remained at a standstill ever since the eruption of border tensions in 2020.
India’s External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar, has emphasised that the restoration of normalcy on the border is a crucial prerequisite for normalizing relations. - In a meeting with China’s Wang Yi, NSA Ajit Doval also highlighted that the prolonged crisis has not only eroded strategic trust but also undermined the public and political foundation of the relationship.
- China, on its part, has referred to the border crisis as an “issue inherited from the past” and has advised India to address the border separately from the broader bilateral relationship. However, India has been reluctant to follow suit.
India and China have been engaged in a military standoff in eastern Ladakh since April-May 2020. Bilateral relations hit a new low after violent clashes in the Galwan Valley in June 2020.
The Galwan Valley Clash
- The political tensions between India and China intensified in the wake of the border standoff in eastern Ladakh. The confrontation, which began on May 5, 2020, after a violent clash in the Pangong Lake region, has heightened the already strained relations between the two countries.
- The relations between the two nations plummeted drastically after the intense clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020, which represented the most severe military confrontation between the two parties in decades.
- Following a series of military and diplomatic discussions, both parties successfully concluded the disengagement process in 2021. This encompassed the north and south banks of Pangong Lake, as well as the Gogra area.