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The high-level talks to ease the tense situation along the Line of Actual Control come a day after Indian and Chinese diplomats discussed the boundary flare-up via videoconference.
Analysts say the meeting alone is unlikely to resolve the crisis but would help New Delhi to determine the reasons behind Chinese aggression.
Top generals from the Chinese and Indian militaries met for over four hours on Saturday in a bid to end the troop stand-off between both sides in the Himalayas.
India’s 14 Corps Commander Lieutenant General Harinder Singh met his Chinese counterpart in Moldo, on the Chinese side of the temporary boundary, the Line of Actual Control (LAC), in what experts are describing as an unprecedented high-level military exchange between the two sides.
While expectations were low in the Indian camp around the meeting resulting in an immediate end to the month-long tensions, Indian officials said that Saturday’s talks could help New Delhi gain a better understanding of the reasons behind Beijing’s aggressive posturing on the border.
However, both countries were tight-lipped about the discussions in the meeting, with Indian sources indicating that a statement might be issued late on Saturday night after high-level military and diplomatic deliberations.
Sources said that the Indian side stressed on the need for both countries to reverse advanced positions and maintain the positions that the two countries had held, before the stand-off began in early May.
The talks came amid a fresh diplomatic effort by both countries to resolve the month-long flare-up between the two Asian neighbours as Indian and Chinese foreign ministry officials held a videoconference to discuss the boundary tensions on Friday evening.
In the meeting, the two sides decided to “handle their differences through peaceful discussions,” according to a statement released by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.
Going into talks, Indian military sources had said that New Delhi would be pressing for the two militaries to go back to the positions that they had held before the stand-off and for the Chinese side to not make any fresh territorial claims.
Sources said a high-level meeting like this would help the Indian authorities determine the reasons behind Chinese aggression.
“The Chinese decision-making can be quite opaque and hence, one does not understand what the immediate provocation for their aggression on the border could be. This meeting might hold the key,” a source said.
Analysts agree, but warn that Saturday’s meeting, alone, is unlikely to resolve the crisis.
“What will, most likely, happen is that both sides will get a better understanding of each other’s position and these outstanding issues will then have to be dealt with at different platforms, either diplomatically or politically,” said Sameer Patil, a Fellow of International Security Studies and a China-watcher at the Gateway House, a Mumbai-based think tank.
“That the United States has rallied around India would have clearly inspired confidence in the Indian camp that there was likely to be more global support for its case against China,” said Patil.
Rajeev Ranjan Chaturvedy, a senior international relations analyst based in Delhi said Saturday’s meeting has allowed both China and India to exchange views on their respective positions.
“It helps to create the right environment for a deeper discussion among officials. However, I don’t think China’s territorial offensive will end. Changing the status quo through incremental encroachment in the disputed territory has become a permanent feature of Chinese foreign policy and I do not see any signal of change in China’s behaviour,” Chaturvedy added.
Long Xingchun, president of the Chengdu Institute of World Affairs, an independent think tank based in China’s southwest, said the meeting is expected to help soothe tensions and play a role in solving the border conflicts between the two countries.
“By engaging each other, the border tension this time will not escalate into a bigger problem, as neither side wants it to develop into a major confrontation. China is currently facing strategic pressure from the US, trying to restore its economy after the Covid-19 outbreak, and attend to problems in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Resolving the current India-China dispute is not high on the agenda of the Chinese government. There is no urgency to change the status quo through military means,” said Long.
