India, China To Hold Key Dialogue On Border Row Tomorrow
India and China are set to hold a key meeting of officers of the rank of lieutenant general in an attempt to defuse tensions brewing over the Line of Actual Control (LAC). A meeting between Corps Commanders of such a senior rank is reported to be unprecedented.
Analysts believe that it would take a few meetings for a proper resolution of some of the pending issues. India and China are locked in a bitter standoff in Eastern Ladakh, the most serious since the Doklam crisis in 2017.
China has objected to roads and bridges being built on the Indian side of the border. Indian experts point out that China has consistently been strengthening border infrastructure all through while objecting to any activity on the Indian side. Experts point out that while India has only been trying to maintain the status quo by strengthening its infrastructure, China has been attempting to alter the status quo through its consistent activities on the LAC.
India shares a porous border of over 4000 km long with China. This time around however the flareup has been in the Eastern Ladakh sector.
The troop level face-off has been going on for more than a month now and has led to a scuffle between soldiers on both sides near the Pangong Lake in Ladakh in early May. India stated that Chinese troops were hindering regular border patrolling in the area.
Saturday's meeting between the Corps Commanders of the two armies will mark the first step in the direction of resolution of the LAC situation.