India, China to Hold Corps Commander Talks Amid Arunachal Border Tensions

India and China are expected to hold Corps Commander-level talks in the coming days, following reports of tension in the Taksing area of Upper Subansiri district in Arunachal Pradesh. The meeting will involve Lt General Girish Kalia, commander of the Army's III Corps, also known as the Spear Corps, and his Chinese counterpart.

The Spear Corps, headquartered at Rangapahar near Dimapur in Nagaland, oversees operations in Nagaland, Manipur, and the central and eastern sectors of Arunachal Pradesh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Multiple rounds of talks between local commanders have already been held in recent weeks to address the issues.

Earlier this week, Army Chief General Dhiraj Seth visited the Spear Corps to review operational readiness and ongoing border development initiatives. He was briefed on capability development and measures to strengthen combat readiness.

The upcoming talks follow the August 25 meeting in Beijing between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who serve as special representatives for the boundary talks. A day later, both sides announced plans to advance discussions on an early and substantial harvest of boundary delimitation and border management.

Key outcomes from that meeting included an agreement on two new border military hotlines in the eastern and middle sectors, likely to be established at Army command headquarters in Lucknow and Kolkata. Additionally, two new meeting points for military commander-level talks were agreed upon, and a Border Personnel Meeting point will be set up in Joshimath, Uttarakhand. Similar meeting points already exist in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh, and Chushul, Ladakh.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to attend the BRICS summit in New Delhi on September 12-13. The two nations have been working to restore ties that deteriorated following the military standoff along the LAC in eastern Ladakh in 2020. Xi last visited India in October 2019 for the second informal bilateral summit in Mamallapuram.