'Frank, constructive and forward-looking': India on talks with China on situation along LAC

The Indian and Chinese militaries have been locked in a standoff since May 2020

India and China on Thursday held "frank, constructive and forward-looking" diplomatic talks on the situation along the Line of Actual Control to "narrow down" differences and find an early resolution to outstanding issues, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

The 31st meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on India-China Border Affairs was held in Beijing, the MEA said in a statement.

During the meeting, it was reiterated that "restoration of peace and tranquility, and respect for the LAC are the essential basis for the restoration of normalcy in bilateral relations", it said.

In line with the guidance provided by the two foreign ministers' meetings in Astana and Vientiane in July to accelerate the discussions, and build on the WMCC meeting held last month, "the two sides had a frank, constructive and forward-looking exchange of views on the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to narrow down the differences and find early resolution of the outstanding issues", the statement said.

For this, they further agreed to "intensified contact through diplomatic and military channels".

Gourangalal Das, joint secretary (east Asia), from the MEA, led the Indian delegation. The Chinese delegation was led by Hong Liang, director general of the Boundary and Ocean Affairs Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In the meantime, the two sides decided to jointly uphold peace and tranquility on the ground in the border areas, in accordance with relevant bilateral agreements, protocols and understandings reached between the two governments, the MEA statement said.

The leader of the Indian delegation also called on the vice-minister in the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The 30th meeting of the WMCC was held in New Delhi on July 31.

The Indian and Chinese militaries have been locked in a standoff since May 2020 and a full resolution of the border row has not yet been achieved though the two sides have disengaged from several friction points.

The ties took a nosedive following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.

Meanwhile, China's foreign ministry on Thursday also issued a readout in Beijing after the talks. The readout is in Chinese language.

The meeting was held in a positive, friendly and frank atmosphere and the two sides exchanged in-depth views on the situation along the LAC to narrow down the differences and expand consensus, it said.

They agreed to strengthen dialogue and consultation, take care of each other's reasonable concerns, and reach a solution acceptable to both sides as soon as possible, a rough English translation of the readout said.

Both the sides agreed to consolidate the results of the consultations, strictly abide by border-related agreements and confidence-building measures, and continue to jointly maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas, the Chinese foreign ministry readout added.

The two sides agreed to jointly promote an early resolution of the border situation in accordance with the important consensus reached recently by the foreign ministers of the two countries, it said.

(With inputs from PTI)