India and China hold first Corps Commander-level meeting in Arunachal Pradesh amid border tensions

India and China held their first meeting at the Corps Commander level in Arunachal Pradesh on Sunday, amid reports of a troop buildup and border tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

The talks were held at the Wacha-Damai border meeting point near LAC. The two military commanders met on the Indian side of the border, at the point that is located close to Kibithu. The Indian side was led by Lt Gen Girish Kalia, the 3 Corps Commander.

Corps Commander-level talks have never been held in Arunachal in the past. The practice for such senior military leadership to meet started after the 2020 standoff in Ladakh which included a bloody clash that left soldiers dead on both sides.

The meeting also comes after boundary delimitation and border management talks between national security adviser Ajit Doval and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi in Beijing on August 26.

During the top-level talks, it was decided that besides Ladakh, two additional meeting points would be established for Corps Commander-level talks between the two sides, including the one in Arunachal that was used on Sunday. It was also decided at the talks to set up two additional channels for border military hotlines in the eastern (Arunachal) and middle (Uttarakhand) sectors.

While regular meetings do take place between Indian and Chinese troops deployed at forward positions all along the border to sort out local issues such as perceived transgressions, wandering of people or cattle across the border and patrolling disagreements, talks at such senior levels are held to discuss larger and pressing issues.

It may be noted that Army chief Gen Dhiraj Seth recently visited the 3 Corps headquarters at Rangapahar to take an assessment of the ground situation as well as preparedness of troops deployed on the Chinese frontier.