Agree on border management, peace in line with pacts

Indian and Chinese officials at a meeting today “reflected on the lessons” of the violent events of 2020 and discussed mechanisms to prevent their recurrence. The two sides held discussions at the 32nd meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) here.

The WMCC meeting comes over a month after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit at Kazan in Russia. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in a statement, gave details of the meeting, saying “both sides reviewed the situation in border areas, and reflected on the lessons learnt from the events of 2020 in order to prevent their recurrence”.

The two militaries were locked in a stand-off that led to violent clashes, including the one at Galwan in June 2020. The MEA described the way forward to prevent a recurrence. “In this context, they highlighted the importance of regular exchanges and contacts at diplomatic and military levels through established mechanisms,” it said.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had in a statement in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday said the “dis-engagement” of troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) had been completed, but the management of border areas required “further” attention. Peace and tranquillity along the LAC would form the basis of future relations with China, he had said.

The WMCC meeting today echoed a similar sentiment. The MEA statement said: “The two sides agreed on the need for effective border management and maintenance of peace and tranquillity in accordance with relevant bilateral agreements, protocols and understandings reached between the two governments”. A series of written agreements were signed between India and China in the 1990s, which were followed by more pacts in 2003, 2005, 2012 and 2013.

The two sides positively affirmed the implementation of the most recent disengagement agreement on October 21, which completed the resolution of the issues that had emerged in 2020, the MEA said.

The WMCC also prepared for the next meeting of the Special Representatives, to be held in accordance with the decision at Kazan on October 23.

The Indian delegation at the WMCC was led by Gourangalal Das, Joint Secretary (East Asia), and the Chinese delegation was headed by Hong Liang, Director General of the Boundary and Oceanic Affairs Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The leader of the Chinese delegation also called on Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri during the visit.

Courtesy: The Tribune India :06th Dec , 2024