India and China have held talks on boundary delimitation, border management and trans-border cooperation, with New Delhi emphasising the need for China to share technical details on upstream projects on trans-border rivers.
These issues figured in the 36th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) in New Delhi on Thursday, according to a readout from the external affairs ministry on Friday. The Indian side underlined that maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas is “essential for the overall development of bilateral relations”.
The WMCC, which last met in Beijing on May 27, played a crucial role in managing tensions during the military face-off on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that lasted more than four years and ended when the two sides reached an understanding in October 2024.
The two sides “engaged in frank discussions” and reviewed the situation along the LAC, the readout said.
As a follow up to outcomes of the 24th round of talks between the Special Representatives on the border issue last year, the two sides had “detailed exchanges on issues related to boundary delimitation, border management, mechanism‑building and trans‑border cooperation”.
{{/usCountry}}As a follow up to outcomes of the 24th round of talks between the Special Representatives on the border issue last year, the two sides had “detailed exchanges on issues related to boundary delimitation, border management, mechanism‑building and trans‑border cooperation”.
{{/usCountry}}The readout said: “The Indian side reiterated the need for early convening of the next meeting of the Expert Level Mechanism on trans‑border rivers and emphasised the importance of sharing technical details on upstream projects.”
This was a reference to India’s concerns about a mega dam being built by China on the upper reaches of the Brahmaputra river. The $137-billion dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo river is expected to produce three times more energy than China’s Three Gorges Dam, currently the world’s largest. But there are fears that the dam on the eastern rim of the ecologically fragile Tibetan plateau will have severe environmental impacts that can affect millions downstream in India and Bangladesh.
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Even at the last meeting of the WMCC in May, the Indian side had stressed on an “early meeting” of the Expert Level Mechanism on trans-border rivers.
The Indian side has flagged its concerns about the mega dam to China and emphasised the need for transparency and consultations with downstream countries. The Yarlung Tsangpo becomes the Siang when it enters India’s Arunachal Pradesh state, and then the Brahmaputra in Assam before flowing into Bangladesh.
Both sides agreed at Thursday’s meeting to continue using existing diplomatic and military channels, including the WMCC, local military commander‑level meetings and other agreed mechanisms, to “resolve outstanding issues and avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation along the LAC”, the readout said.
The Indian delegation at the meeting was led by Sujit Ghosh, joint secretary (East Asia) in the external affairs ministry, and the Chinese team was headed by Hou Yanqi, director general of the Boundary and Oceanic Affairs Department of the foreign ministry.
The latest WMCC meeting followed foreign secretary Vikram Misri’s meetings with top Chinese leaders in Beijing on July 27 as part of efforts by the two countries to normalise their relations, including addressing priority issues and deepening exchanges in different fields. It also came close on the heels of a meeting between external affairs minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on July 22 on the margins of Asean-related meetings in the Philippines.
Skirmishes between Indian and Chinese border forces in Ladakh sector of the LAC in April 2020 triggered a military standoff that took bilateral relations to their lowest point since the 1962 border war. The two sides reached an understanding on withdrawing frontline troops from all friction points in October 2024, following which New Delhi and Beijing have taken several steps to normalise relations.
India and China have resumed the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage and restored direct flights. India has also eased visa restrictions for Chinese nationals.
However, China’s curbs on exports of critical commodities such as rare earth metals, fertilisers and heavy machinery have impacted India over the past two years. New Delhi also has serious concerns about heavily asymmetric trade with Beijing, and has called for easier access to Chinese markets and steps to address the trade deficit, which has touched an all-time high of $112 billion.