Ahead Of Chinese Defence Minister's Visit, India And China Hold 18th Round Of Corps Commander-Level Talks In Ladakh

India and China reportedly held the 18th round of military level talks on Sunday (23 April) in a bid to ease the ongoing tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh.

The latest talks come around four months after India and China had earlier in December last year held Corps Commander Level talks to discuss outstanding border issues.

The India-China border dispute will soon enter its fourth year in May.

Although, four rounds of disengagements have taken place in Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso, Gogra (PP-17A) and Hot Springs, both armies still have a considerable number of troops and modern weaponry stationed in Ladakh theatre.

Despite 18 rounds of talks between Indian and Chinese armies, unresolved issues at Depsang in Daulat Beg Oldi sector and Charding Nullah Junction in Demchok sector still remain.

Recent discussions addressed outstanding problems, but no details on the outcome were disclosed.

The latest military level talks come ahead of Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu's visit to India for the upcoming SCO meeting in New Delhi on April 27-28.

The upcoming visits of Chinese Defence Minister and Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu to India is expected to involve bilateral meetings with their Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh on 27 April.

The main SCO defence ministers’ meeting will be held a day later on 28 April.

The SCO defence minister's meet comes ahead of the SCO group meeting in July.

This will be the first time that India will be hosting the summit since joining the SCO group in 2017.

The Summit will involve eight member states, including India, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Earlier in December 2022, India and China had agreed to preserve the stability and security on the ground in the Western Sector of the LAC.

“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,” a statement said, reports Hindustan Times.

The December meeting took place just 11 days after several Indian and Chinese soldiers were injured in a clash along LAC at Yangtse, located near Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.