India, China hold talks on LAC standoff in Delhi, agree on military discussions

India and China held another round of diplomatic talks on Wednesday on the dragging standoff on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), with the only outcome being a decision to hold the next round of discussions between military commanders “at an early date”.

The 27th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on India-China border affairs was held in-person in New Delhi, the external affairs ministry said in a statement.

While noting that restoring peace and tranquillity will “create conditions for normalising bilateral relations”, the statement said: “In order to achieve this objective, in accordance with existing bilateral agreements and protocols, they agreed to hold the next (19th) round of Senior Commanders’ meeting at an early date.”

The military standoff on the LAC, currently in its fourth year, has taken India-China ties to their lowest ebb in six decades. Soon after the standoff emerged in the open, a brutal clash at Galwan Valley killed 20 Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese troops in June 2020.

In the face of calls from the Chinese side for the border row to be placed in its “appropriate place” in bilateral relations, external affairs minister S Jaishankar has maintained that relations cannot be normalised till peace and tranquillity are restored along the LAC.

During the WMCC meeting, the two sides “reviewed the situation along the LAC in the Western Sector of India-China border areas and discussed proposals for disengagement in remaining areas in a frank and open manner”, the statement said.

“Restoration of peace and tranquillity will create conditions for normalising bilateral relations,” the statement said.

The two sides also agreed to continue discussions through military and diplomatic channels.

The joint secretary (East Asia) from the external affairs ministry led the Indian delegation at the meeting, while the Chinese team was led by the director general of the boundary and oceanic affairs department of the foreign ministry.

The Indian Army and China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) held the 18th round of senior commanders’ talks on April 23 to ease tensions along the LAC.

Prior to this, the two sides had held talks between the corps commanders in December 2022 to discuss outstanding issues along the border.

Despite four rounds of disengagement of frontline troops at Galwan Valley, Pangong Lake, Gogra and Hot Springs, the Indian and Chinese armies still have more than 60,000 troops each and advanced weaponry deployed in the Ladakh theatre.

Prominent among the remaining friction points along the LAC are Depsang and Demchok.