India continues to reiterate its long-standing position on China while also engaging in diplomatic and military talks to try and resolve issues, according to the Ministry of External Affairs. “India’s view of China is well known – the relationship is not normal. However, we have held discussions at both the military and diplomatic levels in October and November,” said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal during a press briefing on Thursday.
Jaiswal expressed his intention to extract the content of the discussions held during the meetings in October and November, in order to provide additional details. He stated that the commander-level meeting, which took place in October, resulted in an agreement to sustain the momentum of dialogue and negotiations through appropriate military and diplomatic channels. Furthermore, they pledged to uphold peace and tranquility in the border regions.
Furthermore, Jaiswal highlighted that India and China convened the twentieth meeting of the WMCC (Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs). This meeting, conducted at the diplomatic level, involved the participation of our joint secretary for East Asia.
The discussions were comprehensive, constructive, and candid, encompassing all proposed solutions to address remaining issues and achieve complete disengagement in eastern Ladakh.
Jaiswal emphasized that both countries acknowledged the importance of maintaining peace and tranquillity along the border areas, ensuring a stable situation on the ground, and preventing any untoward incidents. Subsequently, they agreed to continue the dialogue through military and diplomatic channels, with the next round of senior commanders meeting scheduled at the earliest to achieve the aforementioned objectives.
The 28th session of the WMCC took place on Thursday, with the Indian delegation led by the Joint Secretary (East Asia) from the Ministry of External Affairs, and the Chinese delegation led by the Director-General, Boundary and Oceanic Affairs, of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as informed by the MEA.
According to a press release by the MEA, both sides assessed the situation along the LAC in the Western Sector of the India-China border areas. They engaged in a comprehensive and constructive discussion on proposals to address the remaining issues and achieve complete disengagement in Eastern Ladakh.
The MEA emphasized that the discussion was open and in-depth. Furthermore, both sides reached an agreement on the importance of maintaining peace and tranquillity along the border areas. They expressed the need to ensure a stable situation on the ground and to prevent any untoward incidents.
The MEA also stated that the dialogue between India and China will continue through military and diplomatic channels. They have agreed to schedule the next round of the Senior Commanders’ Meeting at the earliest, with the objective of achieving the aforementioned goals. Previously, India and China conducted the 20th round of Corps Commander-level talks at Chushul. This was part of their ongoing efforts to achieve overall disengagement and de-escalation in order to resolve the stand-off in eastern Ladakh.
The momentum of dialogue and negotiations through the relevant military and diplomatic mechanisms will be upheld, as stated by the MEA.