(TibetanReview.net, Jan06’16) – There has been increase in high level contacts between China and India in recent times and this will accelerate the solving of the long-standing border dispute between the two countries, said a news commentary on China’s official international mouthpiece Global Times Jan 4 as India’s national security advisor Ajit Doval prepared to visit China from Jan 5 onwards. However, Doval had to postpone his visit in the wake of the attack by Pakistani militants on a key Air Force base in Pathankot.
The commentary said Mr Doval, who is also India’s Special Representative for Sino-India boundary talks, was to meet with Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi, his counterpart on the border talks, on Jan 5 and Premier Li Keqiang on Jan 7. Yang and Doval were stated to be set to “review progress on the border issue” and discuss strategic issues on relations involving the two countries.
The commentary quoted Wang Dehua, director of the Institute for Southern and Central Asian Studies at the Shanghai Municipal Center for International Studies, as saying, “Frequent talks between the two countries will accelerate solving a dispute on the long border, including its western section with Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, and eastern part with Southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region.”
The commentary noted that Mr Doval’s plan for a visit to China followed frequent interactions between the two countries’ top leaders in 2015. They included Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to China in May, followed by Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s visit in November, and Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao visit to India in November. Also, Chinese Central Military Commission Vice-Chairman Fan Changlong had met with Indian Army chief General Dalbir Singh during a visit to India in November.
Fu Xiaoqiang, an expert on South Asian studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, has said the two countries had already agreed to solve the border dispute based on mutual understanding and accommodation. He has noted, however, that marking the Line of Actual Control was proving to be difficult.
Wang has said China and India had agreed to hold quarterly instead of annual talks, and to enhance discussions on security issues at different levels.
Meanwhile, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told reporters Jan 4 that the meeting between the Special Representatives will still take place this year and relevant information will be released in due course, reported dailyexcelsior.com Jan 4.