Corps Commander-level meeting between India and China ends, outcome still unknown

The Corps Commander-level meeting between India and China continued for around 13 hours on Monday (September 21) and ended at 11pm. The outcome of the meeting is still unknown and it is learnt that the Indian representatives at the meeting will now brief senior officials about the marathon discussions with their Chinese counterparts.

14 Corps Chief Lt Gen Harinder Singh and Lt Gen PGK Menon along with a Joint Secretary from Ministry of External Affairs attended the meeting from Indian side at Moldo on Chinese side of Line of Actual Control. This was the sixth meeting between the two neighbouring nations since June this year. 

It is learnt that during the meeting China made it clear that it will not retreat from Pangong Lake, which means the talks between the two countries will continue in the coming days.

India has asked China to restore the pre-April 2020 situation. Under this demand, the Chinese soldiers are required to retreat and go to the place where they were in April 2020.

The agenda and issues to be raised by the Indian side in the meeting were discussed and finalised during a high-level meeting attended by National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat and Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane last week on Friday.

The ground commanders had been talking to each other on an almost daily basis on the ground. The current talks are happening at a time when the Indian side has also occupied six major hill features which are helping the Indian Army to be in dominating positions on heights. 

India is continuosly pressing for simultaneous disengagement and de-escalation by the Chinese side in the Eastern Ladakh sector during its meeting with Chinese officials.