India and China on August 14 held the 19th round of Corps Commander-level talks at Chushul as part of the ongoing efforts for overall disengagement and de-escalation to resolve the stand-off in eastern Ladakh.
Incidentally, the talks come a day before Independence Day and less than a month before the G-20 Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi.
The talks began at 9.30 a.m. on Monday at the Chushul border meeting point on the Indian side and ended at 5.30 p.m., a defence official said. As has been the case in the past, a statement on the outcome of the talks is expected in a day or two.
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The Indian side was by Lt. Gen. Rashim Bali, General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Leh-based 14 Corps. The last round of the Corps Commander talks was held on the Chinese side on April 23.
Since the Corps commander-level talks began in 2020, the two sides have undertaken disengagement from five friction points — Galwan, the north and south banks of Pangong Tso, and Patrolling Points (PP) 15 and 17A in the Gogra-Hot Springs area. The last few rounds of talks have stalled over disengagement from Depsang Plains and Demchok, with China insisting that they predate the 2020 stand-off.
It is expected that Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the G-20 summit on September 9 and 10. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr. Xi are scheduled to attend the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, on August 22-24.
Last month, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval in Johannesburg and with Mr. Jaishankar in Jakarta.
India has on several occasions reiterated that bilateral relationship cannot go back to normal as long as the stand-off is continuing.
