India, China for early, substatntial outcome of boundary talks

New Delhi: A month ahead of likely visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to India for the BRICS summit, the two countries significantly seem pushing for “Early and Substantial Harvest” of boundary delimitation.” negotiations.

The two sides decided to advance discussions on boundary delimitation and Border Management, says an eight-point Outcomes and Consensus document issued after the 25th Round of Talks between the Special Representatives (SR) of India and China on the Boundary Question in Beijing on August 25..

The talks were held between Special Representative of India and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Wang Yi, Special Representative of China, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs.

The outcome document underlines the commitment of the two sides to advancing negotiations on a framework for the settlement of the boundary question in accordance with the Agreement on Political Parameters and Guiding Principles for Settlement of the India-China Boundary Question signed in 2005 and the consensus reached in subsequent SR Talks in pursuit of a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution.

“The Expert Group on Boundary Delimitation and Working Group on Border Management under the WMCC would respectively advance discussions on an Early and Substantial Harvest of boundary delimitation and Border Management,” it said. Earlier, China has been advocating a sector by sector approach in the resolving the boundary dispute.

Both the Special representatives agreed that any situation on the ground would be addressed promptly through existing 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 LAC.

India and China had a four-year military standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) following the 2020 clashes in eastern Ladakh. However, since then they have been gradually working to normalise the relations.

The outcome also said that both sides noted the progress on trans-border cooperation. “The Indian side appreciated the efforts made by the Chinese side to increase the number of batches of Indian official pilgrimage Kailash-Manasarovar Yatra (KMY) in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. Both sides appreciated the reopening of the three designated border trading points. The two sides agreed to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in border trade, pilgrimage and other areas, with the view to work together to create an atmosphere featuring dialogue, peace, consultation and cooperation in the border areas.”

The 26th round of SR Talks will be held in India in 2027.

—India News Stream