India, China hold 16th round of Corps Commander talks

 Rezang La War Memorial

On Sunday (July 17, 2022), the 16th Corps Commander-level talks between India and China lasted more than 12 hours as both sides attempted to resume the stalled process of disengagement and de-escalation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh. However, problems at Patrol Point-15 near Kongka La, Depsang Bulge in Daulet Beg Oldi sector, and Charding Nullah Junction (CNJ) in Demchok sector were a few sticking points in the talks. The talks were held at the Chushul-Moldo border point on the Indian side.

According to government sources, Lieutenant General A. Sengupta, Commander of 14 Corps led the Indian team during the 9.30 a.m. start of the talks. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar initiated the effort to resume negotiations to defuse the tense situation following the military standoff in May 2020 during a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Bali at the beginning of this month on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting.

A statement released jointly on Monday said that both sides had a “frank and in-depth exchange of views” and “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.”

According to sources, while the topic of Depsang Plains, a 972-sq km plateau, did not feature prominently in the discussions, the Indian delegation did bring it up, along with the necessity for both sides to revert to the April 2020 status quo at all points of contention.

The gap between the 15th and 16th rounds of Corps commander-level talks has been the longest ever since the standoff began in May 2020. Earlier on March 11 of this year, the 15th India-China Corps Commander-level Meeting was held. During the meeting, the two parties continued their discussions from the previous session, which took place on January 12 of this year (14th India-China Corps Commander-level talks), regarding the resolution of pertinent issues along LAC in the Western Sector.

Despite the withdrawal of forces from the Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso, and Gogra-Hot Springs region, each side still has approximately 60,000 troops and sophisticated weaponry deployed in the Ladakh theater. The first round of negotiations between the two forces took place in June 2020, followed by eight rounds in 2020, five rounds in 2021, and three so far this year.

While India does not anticipate that these negotiations will result in many breakthroughs, it insists on a three-step approach to bring back normalcy along the LAC: disengagement, de-escalation of tension, and de-induction of troops, weapons, and enabling equipment.

NOTE: This article was originally published at IndraStra.com on July 19, 2022.