On Friday, India announced that it will collaborate with China on measures to further the agreement agreed by the two countries’ Special Representatives on cross-border cooperation and exchanges, including border trade and the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra.
After reaching an agreement on October 21 regarding the disengagement of frontline forces in the Ladakh sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), China’s foreign minister Wang Yi and India’s national security adviser Ajit Doval met in Beijing on Wednesday for their first formal discussions in almost five years as the Special Representatives on the border issue.
According to an Indian readout on the meeting, Doval and Wang offered “positive directions for cross-border cooperation and exchanges including resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, data sharing on trans-border rivers, and border trade” during their discussions.
Randhir Jaiswal, a spokesman for the external affairs ministry, responded, “It means that the discussions have gone into the positive direction, and thereafter, whatever else is required to take these cross-border exchanges forward,” when asked about the development during a routine media briefing.
Since 2020, when China’s unexpected force buildup in the Ladakh region of the LAC led to a military standoff in which both sides deployed almost 60,000 troops each, the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra has not taken place.
Bilateral ties reached their lowest ebb in 60 years in June 2020 after a bloody battle in the Galwan Valley that claimed the lives of 20 Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese forces.
The two sides finished disengaging their frontline forces at the two surviving “friction points,” Demchok and Depsang, following their agreement on October 21.
In a meeting held on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Russia on October 23, Chinese President Ji Xinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to normalize bilateral relations and resolve the border dispute by reviving a number of mechanisms, including the Special Representatives’ meeting.
Jaiswal said, “Both sides have reaffirmed their commitment to explore a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable framework for the settlement of the boundary question by the political parameters and guiding principles agreed in 2005. The agreement is publicly available on the MEA website”.
He stated that in this round, the Special Representatives thoroughly examined issues of peaceful border management in addition to talking about the framework for resolving the boundary dispute.
When asked if full-fledged trade contacts would resume, Jaiswal said that the two sides have met multiple times since October, including at the highest level, “where it has been agreed that we’ll take step by step action, among other things.”
“Now we’ll take it forward with other meetings and thereafter we’ll see how things shape [up] on these matters,” Jaiswal stated following the Special Representatives’ discussions and the Indian and Chinese leaders’ summit in Kazan, Russia.
When questioned about a statement released by China’s foreign ministry after the Special Representatives’ discussions, Jaiswal said the Indian side’s readout provides the “perspective of what was discussed” and that the two sides had established a “six-point consensus.”
“We can give you details on that and speak for our press release,” he continued.
On condition of anonymity, those with knowledge of the situation stated that there was no mention of consensus in the Indian readout. One of the participants stated, “All of these topics were discussed, but to say there was consensus is something else.”
The people added that following the two-hour-long Special Representatives’ talks on Wednesday morning, the two sides attempted to release a unified statement. Late Wednesday night, however, both sides released independent comments suggesting potential differences.
Read Also: Gujarat Bar Council Member Boycotts Event Over Amit Shah’s Presence, Says He ‘Insulted Ambedkar’
