The two Asian powers resumed a formal high-level discussion for the first time in five years on Wednesday, agreeing to cooperate on resolving their long-running border issue. India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met in Beijing on Wednesday for the first time since late 2019 as their nations’ special representatives on border matters.
The meeting comes after the two nations signed an agreement in October on patrolling plans and military disengagement along a portion of their disputed border, where they have been at odds since a deadly confrontation in 2020. A statement from China’s Foreign Ministry said Wang and Doval reaffirmed their commitment to seek a package of solutions to the border dispute that were “fair, reasonable and acceptable to both sides.”
They vowed to continue to implement the disengagement agreement and emphasized that the dispute should be handled properly, to “avoid impacting the development of bilateral ties.” “Both sides agreed to continue taking measures to maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas and to promote the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations,” the Chinese statement said.
The two officials also agreed to strengthen cross-border exchanges, including the resumption of trips by Indian pilgrims to Tibet, cross-border river cooperation and border trade at Nathula, a mountain pass in the Indian state of Sikkim, according to the statement.
A statement from India’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the broad details of the meeting, adding that the ministers “emphasised the need to ensure peaceful conditions on the ground so that issues on the border do not hold back the normal development of bilateral relations.” “Drawing on the learnings from the events of 2020, they discussed various measures to maintain peace and tranquility on the border and advance effective border management,” the Indian statement added.
The latest effort to ease tensions between the two neighbors comes amid China’s diplomatic charm offensive to mend ties with several American allies and partners, including Japan and Australia, in the lead-up to US President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House. Ties between China and India have been strained severely since June 2020, when a bloody hand-to-hand battle in the Galwan Valley killed at least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers.
Both India and China maintain a significant military presence along their 2,100-mile (3,379-kilometer) de facto border, known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC), which has never been clearly defined and has remained a source of friction since a bloody war between the two countries in 1962.
Source: Here
