India-China body on border affairs conducts meeting to explore options

Ahead of the next round of talks on India-China boundary issue, senior officials of both sides met in New Delhi on Wednesday to review the situation in the border areas and ‘explored’ measures on effective management of the un-demarcated boundary between the two countries.

Today was the 34th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC).

The meeting was conducted to prepare for the next round of the Special Representatives' talks on the India-China boundary question to be held in India later this year. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi are the appointed SRs. At the last meeting in China in December 2024, Doval and Wang had reiterated on having a ‘fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable framework for settlement of the boundary question’.

Today, the WMCC expressed satisfaction with the general prevalence of peace and tranquility in the border areas, leading to gradual normalisation of bilateral relations, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in statement. “The WMCC agreed to maintain regular exchanges and contacts on issues related to the boundary affairs at the diplomatic and military levels through established mechanisms,” the MEA said, adding that the two sides “deliberated on various measures explored during the previous round of SR talks”.

The Indian delegation at the WMCC meet was led by Gourangalal Das, Joint Secretary (East Asia), and the Chinese delegation was led by Hong Liang, Director General of the Boundary & Oceanic Affairs Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The leader of the Chinese delegation called on Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.

The decision to revive the SR dialogue mechanism was taken at a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Kazan Russia on October 23, last year. That was two days after India and China firmed up a pact for disengagement in Demchok and Depsang in eastern Ladakh, effectively ending the over four-year border standoff in the region.

In the past few weeks, India has twice pressed upon China for resolving ‘friction’ from along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Last week, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar conveyed to his counterpart Wang Yi, at a meeting in Beijing the way forward on the border and troop build-up along the LAC. "It is now incumbent upon us to address other aspects related to the border, including de-escalation," the Minister told Wang Yi.

The two sides don't have a demarcated border and the LAC acts as a de facto boundary. The Issue of de-escalation of troops from along the LAC is pending since October last year, when the two sides agreed to disengage from two friction spots from along the LAC. 

Earlier last month, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, at a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Admiral Dong Jun, stressed on the need for the two countries to have a 'permanent solution' of border demarcation and suggested a roadmap for permanent de-escalation of troops from along the LAC.