New Delhi, Sept. 8 -- The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday confirmed that India and China have held the first-ever "Senior Highest Military Commander-Level Flag Meeting" in the Arunachal Pradesh sector. The meeting marks a new mechanism for direct communication between senior military commanders in a particularly sensitive part of the India-China border and could signal the beginning of the normalisation of structured military interactions between the two sides after years of heightened tension along the frontier.
While addressing the media, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the two-day exercise was held in two separate sessions, with the first taking place on the Indian side at Wacha in Arunachal Pradesh on September 6 and the second on the Chinese side at Damai in China on September 7.
The meeting comes in the wake of understandings reached during the Special Representatives (SRs) dialogue and discussions under the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) between India and China. Direct communication between senior commanders could provide a channel to address incidents and patrol-related disagreements at an early stage and prevent them from escalating into larger confrontations.
Responding to questions, Jaiswal confirmed that the meeting was held pursuant to understandings reached between the Special Representatives of the two countries in August 2025 and August 2026, followed by further discussions at WMCC meetings held in Beijing and New Delhi in May and August 2026.
"Pursuant to the understandings that have been reached between the Special Representatives of India and China in August 2025 and August 2026, and further discussions at the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination meetings held in Beijing and New Delhi in May and August 2026, the first Senior Highest Military Commander-Level Flag Meeting was held in Wacha in India and Damai in China on September 6 and September 7 respectively," Jaiswal said.
He further said that a similar framework already exists in the western sector, indicating that the latest development expands structured military-to-military communication to another sensitive area along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The development comes amid reports of a belligerent military stance by Chinese forces in the Upper Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh. In this context, a direct communication channel between military commanders could allow both sides to address any misunderstanding or incident at an early stage.
Jaiswal also said that the overall relationship between India and China was moving in the right direction. The latest military engagement follows the SR dialogue held in Beijing, where Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who serve as their countries' representatives on the boundary issue, discussed matters concerning the India-China boundary and the need to maintain peace and tranquillity in border areas.
The SR process, introduced in 2003, was established to seek a comprehensive solution to the India-China boundary issue. The land boundary between India and China stretches 3,488 km and remains unresolved despite numerous rounds of negotiations.
For India, maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas remains a key priority in improving relations with China. During the SR dialogue, the Indian side stressed the importance of maintaining peace and tranquillity along the border as a prerequisite for improving bilateral relations. India has consistently maintained that the normalisation of bilateral relations cannot be separated from developments along the LAC.
The establishment of the military channel in the eastern sector gives India and China another mechanism to track and handle developments on the ground. Much of the military and diplomatic focus since the Galwan Valley clash in 2020 has been on eastern Ladakh, where several rounds of disengagement talks have taken place. The latest mechanism indicates that structured military communication is now being extended to other sensitive areas along the LAC.
In addition to diplomatic engagement, the meeting brings a direct military-to-military component into the broader framework dealing with the boundary issue. Regularised communication between commanders could allow potential problems to be discussed before they develop into a crisis, rather than opening communication only after an incident has already escalated.
The timing of the meeting is also significant, coming just days before the planned visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to New Delhi for the BRICS summit. Xi is expected to arrive in the national capital on Saturday.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.