India, China Review LAC Situation, Plan 'Special Representatives' Talks

 India and China on Wednesday reviewed the overall situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh and prepared the ground for the next edition of the Special Representatives' dialogue on the boundary question.

The two sides discussed the issues at a meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) that took place in Delhi.

They expressed "satisfaction with the "general prevalence of peace and tranquillity in the border areas, leading to gradual normalisation of bilateral relations", the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

It said India and China also prepared for the next round of the Special Representatives' (SR) talks to be held in India later this year.

While India's Special Representative for the dialogue is National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval, the Chinese side is headed by Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Wang is expected to visit India for the upcoming SR talks. The last episode of the SR dialogue was held in Beijing in December last year.

On the WMCC talks, the MEA said the two sides reviewed the situation in the India-China border areas.

They "agreed to maintain regular exchanges and contacts on issues related to the boundary affairs at the diplomatic and military levels through established mechanisms", it said in a statement.

"With a view to advancing effective border management and sustaining peace and tranquillity, the two sides deliberated on various measures as explored during the previous 23rd round of SR talks," the MEA said.

The Indian delegation at the WMCC talks was led by Gourangalal Das, the joint secretary (East Asia division) in the MEA. The Chinese side was headed by Hong Liang, the director general of the boundary and oceanic affairs department of the Chinese foreign ministry.

Hong also called on Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.

Over the last nine months, India and China have been engaged in normalising their relations after ending the military face-off along the LAC in October last year.

Though the two sides have disengaged troops from the friction points, they are yet to de-escalate the situation by pulling back the frontline forces from the border.

Each side currently has around 50,000 to 60,000 troops along the LAC in the eastern Ladakh region.

The WMCC talks took place days after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited China to attend a conclave of the foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

The military standoff in eastern Ladakh began in May 2020 and a deadly clash in the Galwan valley in June that year resulted in a severe strain in ties between the two neighbours.

The face-off effectively ended following the completion of the disengagement process from the last two friction points of Demchok and Depsang under an agreement finalised on October 21 last year.

The decision to revive various dialogue mechanisms was taken at a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Russian city of Kazan in October last year.

The Modi-Xi meeting came two days after India and China firmed up the disengagement pact for Depsang and Demchok.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)