India, China hold 2nd round of Corps Commander-level talks

NEW DELHI: Indian and Chinese military commanders held a second round of talks to ease tensions at their contested border on Monday, as the public mood hardened in India for military and economic riposte to China following the worst clash in over five decades.

According to sources, corps commanders from both sides met in Moldo, on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control, the de facto border dividing Ladakh region from the Chinese held Aksai Chin, high in the western Himalayas.

Lower-ranking officers had attended the first parley last Thursday after the brutal clash on June 15, when soldiers fought with rocks, metal rods and wooden clubs.

After the clashes, the two sides held at least three-rounds of Major General-level talks to explore ways to bring down tension between the two sides.

In a telephonic conversation with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Wednesday, External Affairs minister S Jaishankar called the clashes a “premeditated” action by Chinese PLA.

The Army has sent thousands of additional troops to forward locations along the border in the last one week. The IAF has also moved a sizable number of its frontline Sukhoi 30 MKI, Jaguar, Mirage 2000 aircraft and Apache attack helicopters to several key air bases, including Leh and Srinagar, following the clashes. Meanwhile, Jaishankar will join his Chinese and Russian counterparts at a virtual conference of the Russia-india-china trilateral on Tuesday, against the backdrop of the Ladakh standoff.