India and China have resumed discussions aimed at achieving an “Early and Substantial Harvest” regarding boundary delimitation. The talks are focused on addressing potential misunderstandings and miscalculations along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). These discussions involve Special Representatives from both nations, who are working to ensure stability in the border region.
A joint statement issued by the two sides on Wednesday said the Special Representatives – India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and China’s foreign minister Wang Yi – reached eight points of outcomes and consensus, including holding a meeting of an Expert-Level Mechanism on Trans-border Rivers in September.
“The Expert Group on Boundary Delimitation and Working Group on Border Management under the WMCC [Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination] would respectively advance discussions on an Early and Substantial Harvest of boundary delimitation and Border Management,” the joint statement said without going into details. The first task for both the groups will be to agree on their respective terms of reference, the joint statement said.
They will also advance negotiations on a framework for settling the border in line 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 Special Representatives’ talks in pursuit of a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution.
The two sides will hold the next meeting of the India-China Expert-Level Mechanism on Trans-border Rivers in September and “maintain communication on issues including hydrological data sharing, and renewal of the relevant MoUs”, the joint statement said. As part of the outcomes, India and China will uphold the guidance received from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping, maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas and “create an atmosphere for healthy and steady development of bilateral relations”.
