India, China hold first high-level commanders’ talks in Arunachal Pradesh

The Indian and Chinese armies held their first high-level commanders’ flag meetings in the Arunachal Pradesh sector this week, with talks taking place on both sides of the frontier amid reports of aggressive military posturing by Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Upper Subansiri.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday said the Senior Highest Military Commander-Level Flag Meetings were held at Wacha on the Indian side on September 6 and at Damai on the Chinese side on September 7.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the meetings were held pursuant to understandings reached during the Special Representatives (SR) dialogue between National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, as well as subsequent discussions under the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC).

The meetings follow the latest SR talks held in Beijing last month, where Doval and Wang discussed the India-China boundary question, trans-boundary cooperation and the need to maintain peace and tranquillity along the LAC.

Jaiswal said the latest flag meetings were held pursuant to understandings reached between the two sides in August 2025 and August 2026, and subsequent WMCC meetings held in Beijing and New Delhi in May and August this year.

He added that a similar flag-meeting mechanism exists in the western sector.

The latest military engagement comes amid reports of heightened tensions in the Upper Subansiri region of Arunachal Pradesh, where Indian and Chinese troops have reportedly engaged in face-offs.

The MEA has maintained that peace and tranquillity along the border is essential for the broader improvement of India-China relations. During the latest SR dialogue, Doval stressed that the gradual normalisation of bilateral ties was directly linked to maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas.

India and China have taken several steps in recent months to repair relations, which deteriorated sharply following the 2020 Galwan Valley clashes in eastern Ladakh.

The latest military talks also come ahead of the BRICS summit in New Delhi, with Chinese President Xi Jinping expected to arrive in India on Saturday. His visit is expected to provide an opportunity for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Xi to hold talks as the two countries seek to consolidate the recent thaw in bilateral ties.