Both sides agree on intensified contact through diplomatic and military channels
India and China have held a fresh round of diplomatic talks to narrow down the differences and find early resolution of the outstanding issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday (August 29, 2024).
 
The 31st meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) held in Beijing was described by the MEA as “frank, constructive and forward-looking”. This latest round of discussions was in line with the guidance provided by India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Astana (Kazakhstan) and Vientiane (Laos) in July this year.
 
“In line with the guidance provided by two Foreign Ministers’ meetings in Astana and Vientiane in July 2024 to accelerate their discussion, and building on the WMCC meeting held last month, the two sides had a frank, constructive and forward-looking exchange of views on the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to narrow down the differences and find early resolution of the outstanding issues,” the MEA said in a statement.
 
For this, they further agreed for intensified contact through diplomatic and military channels, the MEA added.
 
In the meantime, they decided to jointly uphold peace and tranquillity on the ground in border areas in accordance with relevant bilateral agreements, protocols and understandings reached between the two Governments. It was reiterated that restoration of peace and tranquility, and respect for LAC are the essential basis for restoration of normalcy in bilateral relations, the MEA stated.
 
Gourangalal Das, Joint Secretary (East Asia) from the Ministry of External Affairs led the Indian delegation; the Chinese side was led by Hong Liang, Director General of the Boundary & Ocean Affairs Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
 
In June 2020, a tense standoff between Indian and Chinese troops in Eastern Ladakh had led to a violent face-off in the Galwan Valley. Twenty Indian soldiers had lost their lives. A large number of Chinese troops were also killed though China has never officially confirmed the actual number of deaths.
 
Multiple rounds of talks at the military and diplomatic levels since then have led to a disengagement at several places. The last few rounds of talks have, however, seen no announcement of any fresh disengagement along the remaining friction points along LAC in the Western Sector in the Eastern Ladakh region.
 
Meeting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the ASEAN-related Foreign Ministers’ Meetings in Vientiane, Lao PDR on July 25, 2024, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar called for full respect for the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and earlier agreements. Their talks focussed on finding an early resolution of the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to stabilize and rebuild bilateral relations, the MEA said.

The two ministers earlier met in Astana, Kazakhstan, on July 4, 2024, and had an in-depth exchange of views on finding an early resolution of the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh to stabilize and rebuild bilateral relations.