The top commanders of the Chinese and Indian armies met on Monday, on theChinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), to alleviate months-longborder stand-off. Reportedly, New Delhi remains adamant that Beijing,having initiated the spat, must take the first steps towards disengagement.
The meeting came more than a week after both countries’ foreign ministersheld talks in Moscow – accompanied by Russian Foreign Minister SergeiLavrov – where they reached a five-point consensus to disengage along thedisputed LAC, with sourceslinkthat there was room for dialogue at diplomatic and military levels.
Noticeably, Russia has been playing a quiet yet pivotal role in thesebackchannel negotiations, using multilateral platforms such as the RIC,SCO, and BRICS (all of which fall under a Russian presidency) to reach amutually acceptable solution that upholds their regional ambitions – amidsta tumultuous geo-strategic environment.
It must be noted that this was the first time that Indian and Chinese CorpsCommanders have met since their previous deliberations in Moldo on the 2ndof August – after which, troops have clashed directly at least twice, withaccusations of warning shots being fired; which violates a long-standingagreement of firearms not being used within a 2km radius of the LAC.
According to Indian officialslink,their delegation has emphasized the government’s stance of “status quoante”, which means that Chinese troops must return to their positions priorto the onset of the dispute in April – in addition to New Delhi’s “firstin, first out” policy, which dictates that Beijing should take the onus ofstarting the disengagement process, having initiated the dispute in thefirst place.
Read Top Stories
There is a significant time constraint involved as well, as temperaturesare expected to plummet in the high-altitude Himalayan mountain region,which would risk thousands of troops being exposed to harsh (andpotentially fatal) weather conditions – with neither side willing to pulltroops back.
With talks expected to continue, the Modi government’s aggressiverhetoric-heavy posturing during this border dispute remains inconsistent,as the contrast between public-perception and ground realities remainsstark.
