NEW DELHI: India and China on Thursday held the first meeting of a key mechanism for handling border affairs since the disengagement at Demchok and Depsang and agreed to maintain peace and tranquillity on the disputed frontier in line with bilateral agreements and protocols.
The meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on India-China border affairs in New Delhi “reflected on the lessons learnt from the events of 2020 in order to prevent their recurrence”, the external affairs ministry said in a readout.
Both 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”, the readout said.
This was the 32nd meeting of the WMCC since its creation in 2012, but the first held since the two countries reached an understanding on October 21 that paved the way for disengagement of front-line forces at Demchok and Depsang and resumption of patrolling at these two “friction points” on the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The military standoff on the LAC since April-May 2020, and a brutal clash at Galwan Valley in June of the same year that killed 20 Indian soldiers and an unspecified number of Chinese troops, had taken bilateral ties to their lowest point since the 1962 border war.
Soon after the recent understanding, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the margins of the Brics Summit in the Russian city of Kazan on October 23 and agreed to revive several mechanisms to address the border issue and normalise the overall relationship.
The WMCC met 17 times during the standoff on the LAC and these meetings played a crucial part in efforts by the two sides to end the face-off.
During Thursday’s meeting, the two sides “positively affirmed the implementation of the most recent disengagement agreement which completed the resolution of the issues that emerged in 2020”, the readout said.
They also prepared for the next meeting of the Special Representatives on the border issue, which is to be held in line with the decision made by Modi and Xi at their meeting in Kazan on October 23.
Both sides reviewed the situation in the border areas and “highlighted the importance of regular exchanges and contacts at diplomatic and military level through established mechanisms”, the readout said.
The Indian delegation at the meeting was led by Gourangalal Das, joint secretary (East Asia) in the external affairs ministry, and the Chinese side was led by Hong Liang, director general of the boundary and oceanic affairs department of the Chinese foreign ministry. Hong also met foreign secretary Vikram Misri, an old China hand who was the Indian envoy to Beijing when the standoff began.
