India-China Military Talks May 'Break Ice' On Ladakh Row, Not End It - Retired Maj.Gen.

NEW DELHI (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th June, 2020) The upcoming Indian-Chinese high-level military talks on the border tensions are likely to become just a beginning of defusing the escalation that flared up in the Himalayas in May and lay the groundwork for future negotiations between diplomats, retired Maj. Gen. Ashwani Kumar Siwach, the chief of staff of 14 Corps in Ladakh from 2011-2012, told Sputnik on Friday.

On Saturday, Indian and Chinese high-level military officials are set to sit down to resolve the border stand-off, which left dozens of soldiers on both sides injured in May. Previous talks at a lower level failed to resolve tensions. India's 14 Corps Commander will meet the chief of China's South Xinjiang Military District in China's Maldo, not far from India's village of Chushul in Ladakh. The upcoming meeting has been dubbed in Indian media as "unprecedented."

"I don't think that they will able to achieve much tomorrow. It will be, you can say, a beginning of talks. As for the military level I don't think that they have that much position to take a decision on this issue, neither by Indian Core Commander nor by his counterpart ... It looks like that possibly tomorrow may be the beginning of the talks and finally the talks will only get materialized at the diplomatic and political level. Tomorrow it is just ice breaking," the general said.

According to Siwach, the sides will try to understand each other's position better, and "this will be the beginning and not the end," but "certainly it will help in de-escalating the situation on the ground from both sides.

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As for a real settlement, the general believes that it can only be achieved at a diplomatic level.

India, he went on, wants to immediately restore the status quo and see Chinese troops go back to the pre-May 2020 line. Another important requirement is that construction activities which are underway on the Indian side must continue, the general said. Such activities, especially the constriction of feeder roads from the Indian-controlled areas to the demarcation line are opposed by Beijing, as they would enable faster relocation of troops and equipment.

As for the upcoming talks, the general noted that military meetings between the two countries are common, but not at such a high level.

"What is uncommon this time is that the level has been raised to Lt General and a Core Commander, earlier it used to be at the tactical level by a local formation commander, maximum done by the GOC [General Officer Commanding in-chief] of a division but this time it will be the Core Commander," he explained.

Though after May's two skirmishes, media reported that both sides have deployed additional troops to the region, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Friday that the overall situation in border areas is "stable and controllable." Ahead of the upcoming military talks, the ministry noted that China and India "maintain close communication through diplomatic and military channels and are working to properly resolve relevant issues."