New Delhi: More than two months after the resolution of the Doklam military face-off between India and China in Bhutanese territory, India and China held talks on border issues in Beijing on Friday which was described by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in New Delhi as “constructive and forward-looking”.
Significantly, both diplomats and military officers from both sides participated in talks. Despite the setback to ties due to the earlier Doklam stand-off, the two countries appear to have decided to engage each other in dialogue again and work towards improvement in ties as envisaged jointly by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping. According to the MEA, the two nations "reviewed the situation in all sectors of India-China border and agreed that maintenance of peace and tranquility in the border areas is an important prerequisite for sustained growth of bilateral relations".
In a statement, the MEA said, The 10th round of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) was held in Beijing on 17 November 2017. The
Indian delegation was led by Pranay Verma, Joint Secretary (East Asia), Ministry of External Affairs. The Chinese delegation was led by Mr. Xiao Qian, director general, department of Asian Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The two delegations comprised of diplomatic and military officials from each side."
The MEA added, "The talks were held in a constructive and forward-looking manner. Both sides reviewed the situation in all sectors of India-China border and agreed that maintenance of peace and tranquility in the border areas is an important prerequisite for sustained growth of bilateral relations. In this regard, the two sides also exchanged views on further confidence building measures and strengthening of military-to-military contacts."
The MEA further said, "WMCC was established in 2012 as an institutional mechanism for consultation and coordination for the maintenance of peace and tranquility in the India-China border areas, as well as to exchange views on strengthening communication and cooperation, including between their border security personnel. The two sides agreed to hold the next meeting of the WMCC at a mutually convenient time."
India and China had resolved a more than two month-long military face-off at Doklam in Bhutanese territory towards the end of August this year. The face-off had been triggered after the Chinese PLA had tried to build a road at Doklam. China regards Doklam as its territory and calls it Dong Lang.
