China-India border dispute: military leaders meet again in bid to ease tensions
- Commanders discuss details of second phase disengagement to pull back troops and equipment from disputed border
- But former diplomat says talks may continue for months as Beijing and New Delhi continue to disagree on key issues
After China and India held another day-long meeting over their border dispute on Tuesday, a former Chinese diplomat said the talks may continue for months as the two sides remain divided on key issues.
China’s Major General Liu Jin, commander of the South Xinjiang Military Region, and India’s Lieutenant General Harinder Singh, commander of Leh-based 14 Corps, began their fourth round of talks in Chushul, Ladakh, on Tuesday morning and did not finish until late in the night, according to Indian media reports.
The two commanders discussed details of a second phase disengagement – an agreed plan to pull back troops and equipment from the disputed border – after an initial phase of standing down was implemented last week, the reports said.
China’s foreign ministry on Wednesday confirmed the meeting had taken place but gave few specifics on what was discussed.
“As I know, on July 14, border troops of China and India held the fourth round of commander-level talks building on the consensus of the previous three rounds, and the implementation of relevant work has made progress in promoting further disengagement between troops at the western section of the boundary and de-escalating tensions,” ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a press conference in Beijing.
“We hope the Indian side can meet us halfway to implement our consensus with real actions, and jointly safeguard peace and tranquillity in the border area.”
China and India share a 3,400km (2,100-mile) border in the Himalayas that has no clear official demarcation line.