India, China Seek To Rebuild Military Trust To Keep Border Calm

Top leaders in India and China want to maintain the peace along their border and are working to bridge a trust deficit between the militaries of the two countries, India’s senior-most army commander said.

“We are trying to increase trust between the military,” India’s Army Chief Upendra Dwivedi told reporters in New Delhi. “The top leadership including prime minister, defense and foreign ministers have met in the last few months” and there is urgency in among the armed forces to keep the borders calm.

The general’s comments reinforce efforts by the political leaders to repair ties that hit a low after the worst border clash in decades left several soldiers dead in June 2020. Both countries have agreed to pull back troops from the remaining friction points, paving the way for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to China last August, his first in seven years.

In recent meetings with Chinese counterparts, Indian officials have made peace and stability along the 3,488-kilometer (2,167 miles) disputed Himalayan border central to efforts to normalize ties.

After Modi met President Xi Jinping last year, steps to deepen ties followed, including the restoration of direct flights between the two countries, which had been suspended since the Covid-19 pandemic and the border crisis. Flights resumed in October.

The engagement comes amid US President Donald Trump’s decision to slap tariffs on both nations, upending trade flows. India’s exports to the US face tariffs of up to 50%, among the highest applied. Beijing and Washington have agreed to a fragile truce on tariffs and export controls.