New Delhi: India and China are set to significantly expand their military communication architecture along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), with two new hotlines and two additional meeting points being established in the Eastern and Central sectors.
Sources in the defence and security establishment told ThePrint that the two new military hotlines will connect the headquarters of India’s Eastern Army Command and Central Army Command with their Chinese counterparts.
At the same time, Joshimath in Uttarakhand and Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh have been identified as the Indian-side locations for two new Border Personnel Meeting (BPM) points where Corps Commander-level talks can be held, the sources said.
The decisions were among the outcomes of the recent meeting between National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who are the Special Representatives (SRs) of India and China for the boundary question.
The joint statement issued after the talks said the two sides had agreed to establish “an additional two meeting points” for holding the General Level Mechanism (GLM)/Senior Highest Military Commander (SHMC) meetings, as well as “two additional channels of border military hotline in the Eastern and Middle Sectors”.
The move is significant because it seeks to create a more structured military-to-military communication mechanism across the entire LAC, rather than relying predominantly on arrangements in the Western Sector, that is Eastern Ladakh.
From one sector to three
The modalities for the new mechanisms had been under discussion since last year, when the SRs agreed to establish General Level Mechanisms in the Eastern and Middle sectors in addition to the existing mechanism in the Western Sector, sources said.
The expansion is aimed at ensuring that military commanders have institutionalised channels to communicate directly in the event of incidents or tensions along different parts of the LAC.
Until the 2020 military standoff, military-level talks between India and China were largely conducted between senior commanders responsible for the respective theatres. On the Indian side, the commander of the Army’s Northern Command would engage with the commander of the Chinese Western Theatre Command, which is responsible for the China-India border.
However, the 2020 military confrontation in eastern Ladakh exposed the need for a more direct and structured mechanism at the tactical level.
India and China then introduced Corps Commander-level talks to address the situation on the ground. These talks became the principal mechanism for negotiations over disengagement and de-escalation at several friction points in eastern Ladakh.
A Corps Commander is responsible for a specific operational area and is the highest-level military commander directly dealing with tactical formations deployed in that area.
Why the new mechanism matters
Sources said the experience of Corps Commander-level talks in eastern Ladakh was considered sufficiently useful for the two sides to replicate the mechanism in the Central and Eastern sectors.
The idea is to ensure that commanders responsible for particular portions of the LAC have a direct channel to their Chinese counterparts, rather than having every incident pushed up through the broader military and diplomatic chain.
The two new hotlines are expected to serve a similar purpose at the operational level.
While the existing military hotline provides a direct channel between senior military headquarters, the additional channels in the Eastern and Middle sectors are intended to allow quicker communication closer to the areas where incidents may occur.
Joshimath and Tawang
The new BPM locations are also significant. Joshimath, in Uttarakhand, will serve as the Indian-side meeting point for the Central Sector, while Tawang will be the Indian-side location for the Eastern Sector.
BPMs have traditionally served as designated locations where Indian and Chinese military personnel can meet to mark occasions, discuss local issues and maintain communication between forces deployed along the LAC.
The existing Corps Commander-level mechanism in eastern Ladakh operates through the designated BPM locations of Chushul on the Indian side and Moldo on the Chinese side.
The talks are held alternately on either side of the LAC.
The creation of similar arrangements in the Central and Eastern sectors therefore represents a broadening of a mechanism that emerged as a response to the 2020 crisis.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)