The New Indian Express ·
India, China armies hold LAC talks in Arunachal Pradesh
The Indian and Chinese armies held corps commander-level talks in Arunachal Pradesh’s Kibithoo region to review the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and focus on maintaining peace and tranquillity along the frontier, people familiar with the matter said.
The talks were held at the Wacha-Damai border meeting point, days after India and China held a fresh round of Special Representative (SR) talks in Beijing on the long-pending boundary dispute.
The Indian delegation was led by Lt General Girish Kalia, commander of the Dimapur-based 3 Corps. There was no official statement on the meeting.
The talks came amid reports of increased military activity by Chinese troops along the LAC in the Upper Subansiri region of Arunachal Pradesh.
At the August 25 SR talks, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi discussed the boundary question, including the delimitation of the frontier, as well as trans-boundary cooperation.
India had stressed the importance of maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas for the continued development of bilateral ties. Doval had said that the improvement in relations between the two countries was directly linked to both sides maintaining peace along the frontier.
Doval and Wang are the designated Special Representatives for the India-China boundary negotiations, a mechanism established in 2003 to seek a political settlement to the 3,488-km-long border dispute.
The latest military-level engagement comes as India and China have taken several steps in recent months to stabilise ties, which deteriorated sharply following the 2020 Galwan Valley clashes.
(With inputs from PTI)