(TibetanReview.net, Dec03’23) – As their border standoff across occupied Tibet in the Ladakh region continues, China and India are still talking and have agreed Nov 30 to hold the 21st round of commander-level talks at the earliest opportunity to promote the resolution of the issues concerning it. This was agreed during the 28th Meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on China-India Border Affairs, reported China’s official globaltimes.cn and India’s PTI news agency Dec 1.
The meeting was co-chaired by Hong Liang, director-general of the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, and Joint Secretary of the East Asia Division of Ministry of External Affairs of India Gourangalal Das.
India’s ministry of external affairs (MEA) said it was agreed on the need to ensure a stable situation on the ground and avoid any untoward incident, reported the PTI news agency Dec 1.
It said that the two sides reviewed the situation and engaged in an “open, constructive and in-depth” discussion on proposals to resolve the remaining issues and achieve complete disengagement in eastern Ladakh, the report added.
The report said the virtual talks took place under the framework of Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC).
While not mentioning anything about disengagement, the globaltimes.cn report said the two countries fully acknowledged the positive progress made in the negotiations on the China-India border situation and conducted comprehensive, in-depth, and constructive discussions on the current issues related to the China-India border.
Both sides have agreed to earnestly implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, and maintain the momentum of diplomatic and military negotiations. They also agreed to hold the 21st round of commander-level talks at the earliest opportunity to promote the resolution of border issues, and achieve an early turnaround in the border situation, the report added.
Additionally, the two countries were stated to have agreed to improve the negotiation and consultation mechanisms, consolidate the existing achievements of the negotiations, strictly abide by the agreements and measures reached by both sides, and jointly maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas.
Representatives of government agencies for foreign affairs, national defence and immigration affairs from both countries were stated to have attended the meeting.
In the last round of military talks in Oct 2023, the Indian side strongly pressed for resolution of the lingering issues at Depsang and Demchok.
Indian and Chinese troops are locked in an over three-year confrontation in certain friction points in eastern Ladakh, even as the two sides completed disengagement from several areas following extensive diplomatic and military talks.
India has been maintaining that its ties with China cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areas while the latter has insisted the border issue need not derail normal relations in other areas.
The eastern Ladakh border standoff erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong Lake area. This was followed by a fierce night clash in the Galwan valley in mid-Jun 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.