E-Paper
Important to keep peace at border, India tells China
This was the first time officials of the two countries met under the WMCC mechanism since Modi and Xi held talks in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in April.
India and China on Thursday reviewed progress in maintaining tranquillity along the disputed boundary following the informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in April, when the leaders decided to give strategic guidance to border troops to keep the peace at the border.
Besides discussing the situation at the frontier, Indian officials reiterated the importance of keeping the peace along the boundary in overall bilateral ties. Though not specifically mentioned, the two sides are believed to have discussed the importance of increasing military-to-military contacts at different levels.
Officials from the two countries gathered in Chengdu, the capital of China’s southwestern province of Sichuan, on Thursday for the 12th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC).
“They (officials) discussed ways to effectively manage border areas in accordance with the strategic guidance provided by the leaders of the two countries at the Wuhan Summit,” said a late-night statement from the Indian embassy in Beijing.
The officials also “explored various confidence-building measures with a view to further enhance mutual trust and understanding”.
The statement added: “The Indian side emphasised that peace and tranquillity in the India-China border areas is an important prerequisite for smooth development of their bilateral relations.”
The Chinese side was yet to comment on the talks till late Thursday night. It was the first time officials of the two countries met under the WMCC mechanism since Modi and Xi held talks in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in April. Ties between the two countries have seemingly been on the upswing following the summit despite old differences – including the border – remaining unresolved.
