The Political Fix: Does Modi have a plan to acknowledge – and address – border tensions with China?

Welcome to The Political Fix by Rohan Venkataramakrishnan, a newsletter on Indian politics and policy. Send feedback to [email protected].

The Big Story: Setting boundaries

After the 12th round of Corps Commander-level talks between the armies of India and China in August, the participants issued a joint statement in which they “noted that this round of meeting was constructive, which further enhanced mutual understanding”.

The talks didn’t actually achieve much. There was no clarity on how India and China will carry out the third round of disengagement at the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh – which, in 2020, saw the first military casualties between the two nations in four decades followed by a period of heightened tensions. But, according to the statement, the two countries still “agreed to resolve these remaining issues in an expeditious manner… and maintain the momentum of dialogue and negotiations”.

That language and the fact that there was a joint statement is crucial context before reading the release after the 13th round of Corps Commander-level talks that was put out on October 11 only by the Indian government:

“The Indian side pointed out that the situation along the LAC had been caused by unilateral attempts of Chinese side to alter the status quo and in violation of the bilateral…

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