VOI World/ Desk
India and China have taken their military dialogue to a new level in the eastern sector, with senior commanders from the two sides holding their first Corps Commander-level talks in Arunachal Pradesh amid ongoing concerns along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The talks were held at the Wacha-Damai border meeting point in Arunachal Pradesh, with Lieutenant General Girish Kalia, commander of the Indian Army’s 3 Corps, representing India. The meeting marked the first time Corps Commander-level officers from India and China have held talks in the eastern sector, where differences over the LAC have periodically led to tensions on the ground.
Until now, Corps Commander-level talks between the two armies had largely focused on the Ladakh sector, where India and China held 23 rounds of discussions at the Chushul-Moldo border meeting point following the 2020 military standoff. The Arunachal meeting therefore represents an expansion of the mechanism for managing border-related issues through direct military communication.
The latest engagement comes amid reports of tensions in parts of Arunachal Pradesh, including the Taksing area of Upper Subansiri district. Local commanders from the two sides had held several meetings in recent weeks, while Indian troops remain deployed in substantial numbers in the area. The Corps Commander-level dialogue provides a higher-level channel to address issues and prevent local tensions from escalating.
The military talks also follow recent diplomatic engagement between New Delhi and Beijing. National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the Special Representatives for the boundary talks, met in Beijing in late August, underlining continued efforts to use both diplomatic and military channels to manage the complex relationship.
Beyond the Border
The development comes as former Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan has argued that India-China relations cannot be viewed solely through the lens of the boundary dispute.
Speaking at an event marking the 139th birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant, Chauhan said India and China were two major Asian powers, large economies and civilisational states, and that Asia’s future would depend significantly on how the two countries manage their simultaneous rise.
Chauhan said the relationship involved cooperation in some areas, competition for influence and markets, and differing views on aspects of the regional and global order. While the boundary dispute remains an important and unresolved challenge, he argued that the wider relationship should not be held hostage solely to border issues and that continued engagement with China was necessary.
The former CDS also stressed that engagement did not mean lowering India’s guard. The unresolved boundary issue, differing perceptions of the LAC and the possibility of friction on the ground continue to require vigilance, credible military capabilities and clear agreements that are consistently followed.
Against that backdrop, the first Corps Commander-level talks in Arunachal Pradesh carry significance beyond the immediate issues discussed at Wacha-Damai. They indicate an effort by both sides to strengthen channels of communication in a sector where senior military dialogue had previously been limited.
For India and China, the challenge remains managing a relationship in which competition, cooperation and strategic mistrust exist simultaneously. The new military dialogue in Arunachal is unlikely to resolve the wider boundary dispute, but it adds another mechanism through which the two Asian powers can attempt to prevent differences on the border from turning into a larger confrontation.
