Days after Doval-Wang talks in Beijing, Corps Commander set to meet Chinese counterpart in N-E

India and China are likely to hold Corps Commander-level talks in the coming days amid reports of tension in the Taksing area of the Upper Subansiri district in Arunachal Pradesh. The Indian Express has learnt that Lt General Girish Kalia, commander of the Army’s III Corps, also called the Spear Corps with its headquarters at Rangapahar near Dimapur in Nagaland, will be holding talks shortly with his Chinese counterpart and other officers.

The Spear Corps is responsible for operations in Nagaland, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh’s central and eastern sectors along the Line of Actual Control. Multiple rounds of talks between local commanders have been held between the two sides in recent weeks to resolve issues.

Earlier this week, Army chief General Dhiraj Seth also visited the Spear Corps to “review the operational readiness of all formations and ongoing border development initiatives,” the Army said in a post on X, adding that he was briefed on all aspects of capability development and initiatives taken to further strengthen combat capability.

On August 25, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who are the special representatives for the boundary talks, met in Beijing. A day later, it was announced that India and China had decided to advance discussions on “an early and substantial harvest” of boundary delimitation and border management, and agreed on two new border military hotlines in the eastern and middle sectors, two new meeting points for military commander-level meetings, and on holding the trans-border river meeting in September.

The two military hotlines in the eastern and middle sectors are likely to be at the Army command headquarters in Lucknow and Kolkata. A Border Personnel Meeting (BPM) point will also be established in Joshimath in Uttarakhand for senior commander-level talks.

Such meeting points already exist in Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh and Chushul in Ladakh. Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to attend the BRICS summit in New Delhi on September 12-13. New Delhi and Beijing have been trying to restore ties that plummeted after the start of the military standoff along the LAC in eastern Ladakh in 2020.

Xi last visited India in October 2019 when he travelled to Mamallapuram near Chennai for the second informal bilateral summit of leaders. Amrita Nayak Dutta writes on defence and national security as part of the national bureau of The Indian Express.

In the past, Amrita has extensively reported on the media industry and broadcasting matters, urban affairs, bureaucracy and government policies. In the last 14 years of her career, she has worked in newspapers as well as in the online media space and is well versed with the functioning of both newsrooms.

Amrita has worked in the northeast, Mumbai and Delhi. She has travelled extensively across the country, including in far-flung border areas, to bring detailed reports from the ground and has written investigative reports on media and defence.

She has been working for The Indian Express since January 2023. ... Read More