India-China border tension: Corps Commander level talks soon; forces just 300 meters away in some places

New Delhi: Amid the rising tension at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), India and China on Thursday agreed to hold Corps commander levels talks soon. While the date and time of the meet are yet to be decided, it will be the sixth such meet since June. The talks have taken held five times so far on June 6, 22 and 30, July 14 and August 2.

Meanwhile, on the ground, the situation remains tense even as at some places Indian and Chinese forces are just 300 meters away. No fresh aggressive action by the Chinese side has been observed, which on September 7 and 8 indulged in "provocative" action according to the Indian Army.

Indian and Chinese Brigade Commander and Commanding Officers interacted on Thursday for three hours from 11 am to 2 pm and the status quo continues. A govt source said that the aim is to "keep lines of communication open" between the two sides. A massive spike in border tensions in eastern Ladakh was triggered by fresh face-offs between the armies of India and China along the LAC.

The development on talks comes at the backdrop of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar holding talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Moscow, Russia on Thursday. Earlier MEA Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava had said "this issue will be discussed" when asked at a media briefing whether the four-month-long border faceoff will be raised by Jaishankar at the talks.

Jaishankar and Wang are in Moscow to attend a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting. The focus of the bilateral talks between the two leaders is expected to be on finding a breakthrough to cool down tensions in eastern Ladakh.

A meeting between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Chinese counterpart General Wei Fenghe on the margins of another SCO meet in Moscow last week apparently did not yield any tangible outcome.

The Indian Army on September 8 said Chinese troops attempted to close in on an Indian position near the southern bank of Pangong lake in eastern Ladakh the previous evening and fired shots in the air, a first such instance of bullets being used along the LAC after a gap of 45 years.

The Army said this in a statement after the Chinese People's Liberation Army(PLA) late on September 7 night alleged that Indian troops crossed the LAC and "outrageously fired" warning shots near the Pangong lake.

The Indian Army in a release on September 8 said, "PLA troops fired a few rounds in the air" and "despite the grave provocation, own troops exercised great restraint and behaved in a mature and responsible manner".

India has occupied several dominating heights close to China's existing positions at Finger 4, north bank of Pangong Lake. The development gives the Indian Army an edge over the Chinese even as PLA troops continue to indulge in provocative actions.

The Chinese have occupied Finger 4 to Finger 8 in the north bank of Pangong Lake. As part of disengagement, India has repeatedly asked Chinese forces to go on its side of LAC and vacate the area.