India-China border standoff reaches Lieutenant-General level military negotiation

• The India-China border dispute will be discussed among senior military officers on June 6 according to India’s Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh.
  
• Singh also confirmed that there has been a build-up of troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh.
  
• US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also reportedly engaged in a 25-minute conversation on Tuesday, June 2.
  

The border dispute between India and China is set to turn a new page with negotiations to be hosted between senior military officers on June 6, according India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh have been intensifying with both countries building up troops on either side of the border.

Sources told Indian Express that these senior military officers are likely to be Lieutenant-General level officers. Adding that on the Indian side, the delegation will be led by the Corps Commander fo the Leh-based XIV Corps.

The border dispute stems from the fact that India and China have different claims on where the border actually lines. The LAC is not demarcated and not defined. “The recent incident, it is true, the Chinese on the border… Their claim is up to a particular point and India’s claim is up to a particular point,” Singh told News18.

India’s Defence Minister confirms build of troops
There have been reports of both countries building up troops on either side of the border. China has reportedly increased boat patrols on Pangong Tso Lake and added battalions and armoured vehicles in Galwan Valley.


India has matched the build-up with its own troops and artillery guns. “The Chinese have come in sizeable numbers (achi khasi sankhya). But whatever needs to be done, India has also done,” said Singh confirming the recent developments.


Ahead of the meeting scheduled to take place on June 6, sources told the Indian Express that a meeting between Major general-level officers from India and China already took place on Tuesday, June 2. The Indian side was represented by the GOC of Leh-based 3 Mountain Division.

The tension along the border between India and China is most serious that they have been since the Dokhlam standoff in 2017, in the eastern Himalayas, which went on 72 days. Right now the Galwan Valley incidence has crossed the 25-day mark.

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