India, China hold talks on LAC standoff in Delhi, agree on military discussions

The 27th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on India-China border affairs was held in-person in New Delhi, the external affairs ministry said in a statement.

Updated on: Jun 1, 2023, 06:31:27 IST

By Rezaul H Laskar

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NEW DELHI: India and China held another round of diplomatic talks on Wednesday on the dragging standoff on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), with the only outcome being a decision to hold the next round of discussions between military commanders “at an early date”.

This undated photograph released by Indian Army on February 16, 2021 shows PLA soldiers and tanks during military disengagement along the Line of Actual Control at the India-China border in Ladakh. (AFP)

The 27th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on India-China border affairs was held in-person in New Delhi, the external affairs ministry said in a statement.

While noting that restoring peace and tranquillity will “create conditions for normalising bilateral relations”, the statement said: “In order to achieve this objective, in accordance with existing bilateral agreements and protocols, they agreed to hold the next (19th) round of Senior Commanders’ meeting at an early date.”

The military standoff on the LAC, currently in its fourth year, has taken India-China ties to their lowest ebb in six decades. Soon after the standoff emerged in the open, a brutal clash at Galwan Valley killed 20 Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese troops in June 2020.

In the face of calls from the Chinese side for the border row to be placed in its “appropriate place” in bilateral relations, external affairs minister S Jaishankar has maintained that relations cannot be normalised till peace and tranquillity are restored along the LAC.

During the WMCC meeting, the two sides “reviewed the situation along the LAC in the Western Sector of India-China border areas and discussed proposals for disengagement in remaining areas in a frank and open manner”, the statement said.

“Restoration of peace and tranquillity will create conditions for normalising bilateral relations,” the statement said.

The two sides also agreed to continue discussions through military and diplomatic channels.

The joint secretary (East Asia) from the external affairs ministry led the Indian delegation at the meeting, while the Chinese team was led by the director general of the boundary and oceanic affairs department of the foreign ministry.

The Indian Army and China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) held the 18th round of senior commanders’ talks on April 23 to ease tensions along the LAC.

Prior to this, the two sides had held talks between the corps commanders in December 2022 to discuss outstanding issues along the border.

Despite four rounds of disengagement of frontline troops at Galwan Valley, Pangong Lake, Gogra and Hot Springs, the Indian and Chinese armies still have more than 60,000 troops each and advanced weaponry deployed in the Ladakh theatre.

Prominent among the remaining friction points along the LAC are Depsang and Demchok.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rezaul H Laskar
Rezaul Hasan Laskar is Foreign Editor with the Hindustan Times, which he joined in 2015. He began as a journalist in his hometown of Shillong in northeast India and has worked in newspapers and wire services over the years. He moved to New Delhi in 1997 and initially focused on defence, national security, Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast, while also working of foreign policy and international relations. He has been part of the media delegation accompanying PMs on foreign visits and has reported from destinations ranging from Tibet to Ukraine. Between 2007 and 2013, he was the Press Trust of India correspondent in Pakistan, one of only two Indian journalists allowed to report from the country. He extensively covered Pakistan’s domestic politics and the life of the common people, as well as the fallout of the 2008 Mumbai attacks on India-Pakistan relations and the subsequent trial in Pakistan of the suspects involved in the attack. As part of his reportage in Pakistan, he travelled the breadth of the country, from the Swat Valley to Balochistan. Reza’s first gig in journalism was writing a weekly music column, and music – especially classic rock – remains a keen interest. He is also a movie buff and a keen photographer.Read More

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