India, China armies talk on phone, likely talks next week, may be last

The Indian and Chinese militaries today spoke over the phone, and will likely hold the eighth round of talks at Chushul next week in a bid to resolve the border dispute in Eastern Ladakh, reports senior journalist Sanjib Kr Baruah.

New Delhi:More than two weeks after the conclusion of the seventh round of corps commander level meeting between India and China on October 12, there is an indication that the Chinese may be agreeable to schedule the eighth round next week at the Chushul-Moldo border point, sources have told ETV Bharat.

"Today the Indian and Chinese militaries have contacted each other telephonically. In all probability, the talks will take place next week on the Indian side of the border at Chushul. The final details will be finalised very soon," an official said.

An understanding is also gaining ground in the relevant military circles that next week's talks may be the last round at the commander level, the primary task of which was to 'disengage and de-escalate'.

The conviction is due to two factors.

One, the commander level talks have failed to resolve the issue. Military commanders do not have the broader mandate of resolution, they can only deploy, withdraw and re-position assets. Faced with the impasse, senior diplomats from India and China foreign ministries were also made part of the discussions.

But the issue has snowballed beyond the military and diplomatic levels with China insisting to restore territories on the basis of a 1959 claim line. This claim was first proposed by former Chinese PM Chou el-Lai to his Indian counterpart Jawaharlal Nehru. In effect, the latest Chinese posture also negates all existing negotiations and treaties.

Two, modes to 'disengage and de-escalate' and its logistics will get very difficult in a few days from now due to the hostile weather conditions that include extreme cold that often plummet to minus 30-40 degrees, lack of oxygen and very heavy snow in many faceoff points.

It will be increasingly difficult to reach out and undertake large scale military movements to and from the face-off points along the India-China frontier in eastern Ladakh as the routes get cut-off due to very heavy snowfall.

The eighth round were preceded by talks on June 6, June 22, June 30, July 14, August 2, September 21 and October 12.

The Indian part of the agenda is navigated by the high-level China Study Group.

The Indian delegation will include Lieutenant General PGK Menon, commander, 14 Corps, besides Navin Srivastava, the joint secretary in India's MEA.

Both India and China have together mobilized more than 1,00,000 soldiers besides military assets including heavy guns and other armaments along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and in the depth areas ever since the border row began in April-May.