New Delhi: Demonstrating the disparity in their positions, India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that India and China exchanged their views at the 29th round of foreign office-led talks on how to achieve “complete disengagement” along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), while the Chinese foreign ministry highlighted the agenda as promoting “transition of the border situation into a normalised phase of control”.
Indian and Chinese officials met for the 29th round of talks under the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on India-China Border Affairs in Beijing on Wednesday (March 27).
According to the MEA, the two sides had “an in-depth exchange of views on how to achieve complete disengagement” and resolve remaining issues along the LAC, the MEA said in a press release.
Until this is achieved, the MEA added, they agreed to maintain “regular contact through diplomatic and military channels” as well as on the need to “uphold peace and tranquility in border areas” according to “existing bilateral agreements and protocols”.
India’s delegation was led by the MEA’s East Asia joint secretary and China’s by the director-general of its foreign ministry’s boundary and oceanic department.
China’s foreign ministry said in a separate press release of the WMCC meet that both countries “positively evaluated the progress made in the management and control of the situation in the China-India border area”.
“The two sides agreed to focus on the relevant issues on the ground along the border, reach a solution acceptable to both sides as soon as possible and promote the transition of the border situation into a normalised phase of control and management,” it continued to say.
“Both sides agreed to continue to maintain communication through diplomatic and military channels, improve the mechanism for negotiation and consultation, and hold a new round of corps commander-level talks at an early date.”
Indian and Chinese troops clashed in the Galwan Valley along the long-contested LAC in April 2020. Twenty Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese soldiers were killed.
These were the first military casualties along the India-China border in four decades.
After the crisis began, there has been disengagement at the north and south banks of the Pangong Lake as well as at the Kailash Range, Gogra Hot Spring and Kugrang Valley by creating buffer zones separating the two forces.
However, the Chinese side has refused to undertake any disengagement at Depsang or Demchok, the two areas where soldiers of both sides continue to block each other.
The last round of the WMCC was held in December, following which the MEA called the talks “constructive”.
The first round of talks was held in 2012.
