India, China To Meet On 14 August For 19th Corps Commander Talks To Resolve Ladakh Standoff Along Border

India and China are scheduled to conduct the nineteenth round of Corps Commander talks on 14 August at Chushul in an ongoing effort to resolve the standoff in eastern Ladakh.

This meeting comes less than a month before the G20 leaders summit for which hopes are high that Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend in person.

“The Indian stance has been consistent, i.e., restoration of status quo ante as on April 2020, and the focus would be on disengagement from Depsang and Demchok. The above entails restoration of patrolling rights till the traditional patrolling points,” a defence source told The Hindu.

Similar to the previous round, the Indian delegation for the talks will be led by Lt Gen Rashim Bali, the 14 Corps Commander based in Leh.

The eighteenth round of Corps Commander talks took place at the Chushul Moldo meeting point on the Chinese side on 23 April, just prior to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers meeting.

Since the talks between Corps Commanders in 2020, disengagement has been carried out at five friction points, including Galwan, where a violent clash occurred in June 2020, as well as the North and South Banks of Pangong Tso in February 2021.

Disengagement has also taken place at Patrolling Point (PP) 17 in the Gogra-Hot Springs area in August and PP15 in early November.

There are still disagreements regarding the Depsang Plains and Demchok. India considers these two areas as additional friction points, while China disagrees and refers to them as legacy issues predating the 2020 standoff.

Talks are reportedly currently underway at both the diplomatic and military levels to resolve the remaining two friction points of Depsang and Demchok.

Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande has often described the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) as "stable but unpredictable." He has also stated that five out of the seven friction points have been resolved, with the focus now shifting to the remaining two points.