India, China likely to hold 19th round of military-level talks on Aug 14

India and China are likely to hold the 19th round of corps commander level talks on Monday at the Chushul-Moldo meeting point in the Eastern Ladakh sector to resolve the ongoing military standoff between the two countries for over three years.

IMAGE: Fire and Fury Corps Commander Lt Gen Rashim Bali (middle), who leads the talks from the Indian side. Photograph: ANI Photo

The two countries have been in a military standoff for the last three years since May 2020, when the Chinese tried to aggressively alter the status quo on the Line of Actual Control.

“The Indian side would be led by Fire and Fury Corps Commander Lt Gen Rashim Bali for the talks with representatives of the Chinese military on August 14. Officials from ministry of external affairs and ITBP (Indo-Tibetan Border Police) are also expected to be part of the talks The two sides are likely to discuss the issues related to DBO and CNN junction along with other matters. India would also be pressing for disengagement from the Eastern Ladakh front,” defence sources told ANI.

This meeting is taking place after a gap of around four months. The last meeting between the two sides at the corps commander level was held in April earlier this year.

The meeting is taking place when both sides are engaged in rapid construction activities along the border areas to strengthen their respective positions.

The two countries started holding military talks on disengagement and de-escalation of the situation along the LAC in eastern Ladakh soon after the confrontation started between the two militaries.

The two sides have since then disengaged from multiple confrontation points and moved to new positions to avoid clashes and resolve the issues peacefully.

Sources said the Indian side is keen to resolve the dispute amicably securing all Indian interests in the region and has deployed over 50,000 troops to match the Chinese deployments in the areas opposite eastern Ladakh.

The two sides have been heavily deployed but have resisted direct conflicts even though the Indian side does not rule out the possibility of any misadventure by the adversary along the LAC.

India thwarted one such misadventure by the Chinese Army in December 2022 in Yang Tse near Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.