In preparation for potential meetings between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping at the BRICS summit in South Africa this week and the G20 summit in New Delhi early next month, India and China are continuing their military negotiations at the Major General level at two locations. The talks aim to lower tensions along the border in eastern Ladakh.
According to sources, talks to improve confidence-building measures have begun at Daulat Beg Oldie and Chushul under the direction of Major Generals P K Mishra, commander of the 3 Infantry Division, and Hariharan, commander of the Uniform Force.
The CBMs under discussion are for the major face-off sites at Depsang and the Charding Ninglung Nallah (CNN) track junction in Demchok, the buffer zones established earlier after troop disengagements, and the overall Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the region. The CBMs range from not increasing troop levels along the LAC, avoiding any airspace violations by drones and defining the ‘limits’ of patrolling and exchanging prior information about each other’s patrols to strictly adhering to border protocols and maintaining the sanctity of the buffer zones where troop disengagement has taken place.
These discussions come after the high-level military discussion between the opposing corps commanders, presided over by Lt. General Rashim Bali, commander of the 14 Corps, and the head of the South Xinjiang Military District, which took place over two days on August 13–14.
The meetings, which have sparked conjecture over whether there is a desire to demonstrate “tangible forward movement” in diffusing the military standoff in eastern Ladakh in the lead-up to the G20 conference, have not yet received an official statement.
With Input source
