13th Corps Commander Level Talks – India Stands Firm as China Shifts Goalposts – Report

While the official statement by India on 13th India – China Corps Commanders Meeting which concluded at Moldo yesterday is still awaited, it appears from various emerging reports that the talks did not go as expected by the Chinese side. India stood firm on its demands of disengagement while the Chinese side again shifted goalposts rather than finding a solution. This is evident from the statement released by PLA spokesperson which exposes a sense of frustration and usual finger pointing. The focus of the talks was expected to be disengagement at Hot Springs and general de-escalation along friction points on LAC.

“Instead of misjudging the situation, the Indian side should cherish the hard-won situation in China-India border areas,” said Senior Colonel Long Shaohua, spokesperson for the Western Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), on Monday. According to China Military Online, the spokesperson made the remarks in a statement talking about the 13th round of China-India Corps Commander Level Meeting held on October 10 at the Moldo-Chushul border meeting point on the Chinese side.

The spokesperson said that during the meeting, the Chinese side made great efforts to promote the easing and cooling of the border situation and fully demonstrated China’s sincerity of maintaining overall interests of bilateral military relations. He blamed the Indian side of persisting in its unreasonable and unrealistic demands, which added difficulties to the negotiations.

The spokesperson pointed out that China is firm in its resolve to safeguard national sovereignty. He hoped that the Indian side should avoid misjudging the situation and cherish the hard-won situation in the China-India border areas. The Indian side should abide by the relevant agreements and consensus reached between the two countries and two militaries, show sincerity and take concrete actions to jointly safeguard peace and stability in the border areas with China, the spokesperson added.

The statement belies Chinese frustration at India’s resolve of not giving in to its unreasonable demands and usually belligerent stance. Reports suggest that in spite of many constructive suggestions from Indian side, the Chinese side remained inflexible and could not provide any proposals to give momentum in resolving the crisis on LAC.