China-India border dispute: rare 2-day talks fail to resolve deadlock ahead of Xi-Modi Brics meeting

Name: Sinking towns, terrified residents: the unintended consequences of India’s infrastructure drive
Uploaded: 2023-08-16T07:09:13.000Z
Duration: 3 min 45 s
Description: Sinking towns, terrified residents: the unintended consequences of India’s infrastructure drive

A joint statement after the 19th round of corps commander-level talks says dialogue was ‘positive, constructive and in-depth’

Analysts expect coming Brics and G20 summits to be significant to relations between the two countries

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to sit down to talk on the sidelines of the Brics leaders’ summit in South Africa next week. Photo: Xinhua

Khushboo Razdanin New York

Published: 3:09pm, 16 Aug 2023Updated: 6:34pm, 16 Aug 2023

Two days of talks between China and India failed to yield any breakthrough on their border deadlock although both sides have once again agreed to keep talking.

The border meeting, which marked the 19th round of corps commander-level talks, was held on Monday and Tuesday, days before Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meet at next week’s Brics summit in South Africa.

It is the first time a commander-level meeting between the two countries to discuss the border dispute has been held over two days.

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Sinking towns, terrified residents: the unintended consequences of India’s infrastructure drive

A joint release on Tuesday described the discussion as “positive, constructive and in-depth”, a view underscored by the two sides issuing one statement together – and not separate releases as they did after talks in April.

“In line with guidance from the leadership, they exchanged views in an open and forward-looking manner,” the statement said, adding that India and China had “agreed to maintain the momentum of dialogue and negotiations through military and diplomatic channels”.

In the interim, the two sides “agreed to maintain the peace and tranquillity on the ground in the border areas”, it said.

Citing defence and security sources, Indian media reported that both sides had also promised to freeze troop numbers and equipment build-up in the eastern Ladakh region along the 3,000km (1,860-mile) Line of Actual Control (LAC) – the contested Himalayan border between the two countries.