India, China reaffirm border peace in 23rd Corps Commander-level talks

Senior military leaders from India and China held the 23rd round of Corps Commander-Level talks at the Moldo-Chushul border meeting point on the Indian side on October 25, 2025, where both sides reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The meeting, held in a cordial and constructive atmosphere, marked the latest step in efforts to reduce tensions along the western sector of the border, though no breakthrough was reached on the crucial issue of troop withdrawal.

According to India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), this was the first General Level Mechanism meeting in the Western Sector since the 24th round of Special Representatives’ Talks held on August 19, 2025. The two sides reviewed the situation along the border and noted that peace and stability had largely been maintained since last year’s disengagement agreements. The MEA stated, “The 23rd round of India-China Corps Commander Level Meeting was held at Chushul-Moldo border meeting point on 25th October 2025. The talks were held in a friendly and cordial atmosphere, and both sides agreed to continue using existing mechanisms to resolve any ground issues along the border to maintain stability.”

The Chinese Ministry of National Defence also issued a statement, saying both sides held “active and in-depth communication” on managing the western section of the China-India border and exchanged views on reducing friction in sensitive areas. It added that the meeting was conducted under the guidance of the “important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries” and that both sides agreed to continue communication and dialogue through military and diplomatic channels to jointly safeguard peace and tranquillity in the border areas.

While both sides acknowledged progress made since the 22nd round of Corps Commander-level talks in October 2024, the latest discussions did not yield any concrete outcome on troop withdrawal. The key friction points, including the Depsang Plains and Demchok, remain unresolved, with both militaries continuing to maintain significant deployments along the LAC. India has consistently urged for complete restoration of positions to pre-2020 status, while China has preferred a phased approach focusing on redefining patrolling limits first. Analysts note that without visible troop disengagement, the peace remains stable but fragile, with one defence observer remarking that “true peace will only come when both militaries pull back from forward positions; dialogue without disengagement preserves calm, not trust.”

Past Rounds and Confidence-Building Progress

Since the 2020 Galwan Valley clash, which marked the most serious confrontation between the two sides in over four decades, 23 rounds of Corps Commander-Level talks have been held, each a step toward de-escalation.

Notable among them were:

• The 9th round (January 2021), which led to disengagement at the Pangong Tso sector, seen as the first major confidence-building step.

• The 15th round (March 2022), which facilitated limited withdrawal in the Gogra area, reducing the risk of accidental escalation.

• The 17th and 18th rounds (December 2022 and April 2023), where both sides agreed to maintain hotline communications and avoid aggressive patrolling, restoring a degree of field-level trust.

• The 21st round (November 2024) and the 22nd round (October 2024) further built on these understandings, emphasizing patrol restraint, improved communication mechanisms, and border stability.

Complementing these military-level talks, high-level diplomatic engagements — notably Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with President Xi Jinping during the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan (2024) and the 24th Special Representatives’ Dialogue (August 2025), also helped reinforce strategic communication and mutual understanding. These interactions resulted in agreements on establishing a Working Group under the WMCC framework to institutionalize trust and manage the border more effectively.

Despite these efforts and consistent diplomatic channels remaining open, the 23rd Corps Commander-level meeting once again underlined the fact that while communication and stability continue, a full resolution remains elusive. Both sides reiterated that they would maintain engagement through military and diplomatic routes to prevent misunderstandings, especially as winter approaches in the high-altitude regions. However, with troops still stationed at several forward positions, experts believe that only mutual and verifiable withdrawal of forces will bring about what can truly be called “real peace.”