No joint statement from China- India talks shows challenges

Nearly two months after the last round of corps commander- level talks, the Chinese and Indian militaries held the 11th round of the meeting on Friday, with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army ( PLA) Western Theater Command releasing a statement on Saturday.

This is unlike the previous rounds of meetings, Chinese experts pointed out on Sunday, noting that no joint statements were issued, and the statement from China was issued by the PLA Western Theater Command instead of the Chinese Ministry of National Defense, which are signs that solving the remaining issues will be challenging for both sides.

The Chinese and Indian militaries held the 11th round of corps commander- level meeting at the Moldo- Chushul border meeting point

Indian side on Friday, in which both sides exchanged views on issues of mutual concern, and confirmed that both sides will maintain military and diplomatic contact, said Senior Colonel Long Shaohua, a spokesperson at the PLA Western Theater Command, in a statement on Saturday.

“We hope India can treasure the current positive situation of de- escalation in China- India border regions, abide by related agreements reached by the two countries and the two militaries in previous meetings, meet China halfway and safeguard peace and stability in border regions together,” Long said.

On the same day, India’s Ministry of External Affairs also released a statement, saying that the two sides held a detailed exchange of views for the resolution of the remaining issues related to disengagement, and agreed on the need to resolve the outstanding issues in an expeditious manner in accordance with the existing agreements and protocols.

Compared with previous rounds of meetings, the 11th round has two new changes, observers said. The previous issuer of Chinese statements was the Chinese Defense Ministry, while this time it was the PLA Western Theater Command spokesperson, and from the 6th round of meeting in September 2020, China and India had all released joint statements, but this time no joint statement was released.

This indicated that the latest meeting did not result in an agreement of a full disengagement in other areas as expected, and the statement showed China’s dissatisfaction and concerns over the slow development of the current situation, said Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University.

AFP Photo: Spectators watch the launch of model rockets near The Peter and Paul Fortress in Saint Petersburg on Sunday at a celebration of the 60th anniversary of Russia's Yuri Gagarin's first manned flight into space. Sixty years ago Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person in space, marking a new chapter in the history of space exploration.