Russia Mediates to Reduce Military Tension between India, China

Senior Russian officials in Moscow revealed that the defense ministers of both India and China are expected to hold talks in the Russian capital on Friday.

The ministerial meeting came at the highest level of political communication since tensions has erupted over the disputed border.

The Russian government officials said that Moscow seeks to defuse the escalation between the two neighboring countries in Asia. Both China and India enjoy warm relations with Russia.

An Indian government official said Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh has obtained permission to meet with his Chinese counterpart, Wei Fengi, in Moscow, where they are both attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting.

The official added that the meeting's request came from the Chinese side. A green signal was given for the meeting," said the official, who asked not to be identified due to the Indian service rules.

The Chinese and Indian governments deployed additional forces along the border that runs through the western section of Himalayas mountains, after a clash in June, in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed in fist fight.

China has not commented on the news of the meeting between the two ministers, but Hu Shijin, editor-in-chief of the Chinese state-backed "Global Times" newspaper; it said on Twitter that a meeting was expected between the two defense ministers.

Military and diplomatic leaders from the two countries had held talks to end the confrontation over the Line of Actual Control, or de facto borders, but little progress was made.

Indian officials said last week that forces on the border had been mobilized to deter Chinese forces, whose movements indicated that they aimed to occupy a hilltop that India considers within its territory.

The Indian army chief said he was confident that the talks could end the stand-off with China, even as the thousands of soldiers remained along the disputed region in the western Himalayas.

"We are confident that the problem can be solved completely through talks," General Manoj Mukund Naravan told Asia International News Agency (ANI), during a visit to the Ladakh region, where the two countries' forces are gathering in a months-long confrontation.

"The situation along the Line of Actual Control is a bit tense," Naravan said, adding that India had deployed additional forces in some areas to stop any incursion attempt by China.

India accuses China of violating bilateral agreements by pushing its forces across the Line of Control, which is the de facto border line in the snow-covered Ladakh region.

On its part, China accused India of exceeding the Line of Control at the end of last month, and a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in New Delhi said: "This step violated China's sovereignty is a flagrant violation."

But the two countries have repeatedly stressed their eagerness to hold talks to resolve the crisis.

Indian and Chinese military officials have met for several days this week south of Pangung Tso Lake in Ladakh region, where the two sides' most recent clash took place at the weekend.

Today,  Indian and Chinese media reported about a possible meeting between the defense ministers of the two countries in Moscow, where they will attend the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

However, an Indian army convoy was filmed moving towards the border region of Ladakh on Tuesday, in the wake of new tensions that have permeated the ongoing military confrontation with China.

Reports of Chinese forces conducting military exercises spread on Saturday, in what India sees as a change of the status quo around Pangong Tsu Lake in Ladakh.

In response to those exercises, India closed the Srinagar-Ladakh highway to traffic on Monday, allowing 300 military vehicles to be transported, according to local reports. The current standoff escalated in June, when 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a clash on the border.