India and China will continue in-depth communication on border issue: Beijing

Beijing: India and China will continue the “in-depth communication” on the border issue in accordance with the spirit of the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Monday ahead of 25th round of the Special Representatives’ Talks on the India-China Boundary Question, scheduled to take place in Beijing on Tuesday.

National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, India’s Special Representative (SR) on the India-China Boundary Question, has already arrived in Beijing on a two-day visit at the invitation of Wang Yi, Foreign Minister and Member of Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

“The Special Representatives’ Meeting on the China-India Boundary Question is the main channel for border negotiations between the two countries and an important platform for communication on issues of mutual concern. Last August, the two sides successfully held the 24th meeting of the Special Representatives on the China-India Boundary Question, exchanging frank and in-depth views on the China-India border issue and reaching several consensuses,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian while replying to a question on the meeting during a regular media briefing in Beijing on Monday.

“At this meeting, both sides will continue in-depth communication on the border issue in accordance with the spirit of the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, and jointly safeguard peace and tranquility in the border areas. The two sides will also exchange views on bilateral relations and international and regional issues,” he added.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), NSA Doval will also call on China’s Vice President, Han Zheng, during his visit.

India has maintained that the state of the border affairs will reflect on the state of larger bilateral ties with China.

“In matters relating to the border areas between India and China, we have always emphasized in discussions with the Chinese side that we consider these issues as most serious and that the maintenance of peace and tranquility in these areas is of the utmost importance,” said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, earlier this month.

Both sides had also engaged in “frank discussions” and reviewed the situation along the Line of Actual Control during the recently-held 36th WMCC meeting on India-China border affairs on August 6.

“The Indian side again underlined that maintaining peace and tranquility in the border areas is essential for the overall development of bilateral relations. It was agreed to continue to use existing mechanisms, diplomatic and military channels, including the WMCC, local commander-level meetings, and other agreed mechanisms to resolve outstanding issues and avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation along the Line of Actual Control,” Jaiswal had stated.

IANS