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India, China Hold First Corps Commander-Level Talks in Eastern Sector Amid Arunachal Tensions
India and China conducted two days of Corps Commander-level military talks in the eastern sector, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirmed on Tuesday. The discussions come amid continuing tensions in the Taksing area of Upper Subansiri district in Arunachal Pradesh.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the first Senior Highest Military Commander-Level Flag Meeting was held on consecutive days at Wacha on the Indian side and Damai on the Chinese side, taking place on Sunday, September 6, and Monday, September 7, respectively. He noted that a similar mechanism operates in the Western Sector, referring to the arrangement in place in eastern Ladakh since 2020 to address the military standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). India and China have so far held 23 rounds of Corps Commander-level talks at the Chushul-Moldo border meeting point in eastern Ladakh under that mechanism.
According to Jaiswal, the latest talks were held in line with understandings reached between the Special Representatives of India and China in August 2025 and August 2026, along with further discussions during Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) meetings held in Beijing and New Delhi in May and August 2026.
Lt General Girish Kalia, who commands the Army’s III Corps—also known as the Spear Corps, headquartered at Rangapahar near Dimapur in Nagaland—led the Indian delegation and met his Chinese counterpart along with other officers.
The talks followed an August 25 meeting in Beijing between India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who serve as the Special Representatives of their respective countries in boundary negotiations. The development comes ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s expected visit to India for the BRICS Summit scheduled for September 12-13. Xi’s last visit to India was in October 2019, when he traveled to Mamallapuram near Chennai for the second informal bilateral summit between the two leaders.
The Indian Express had first reported on Saturday about the Corps Commander-level talks, which followed several rounds of meetings between local commanders from both sides in recent weeks aimed at resolving the standoff. Indian troops remain deployed in significant numbers in the area to prevent any further escalation.