LAC on table, Doval to meet Wang Yi tomorrow

National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval will visit China to resume dialogue at the level of Special Representatives (SR). Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will represent Beijing. This will mark the 23rd round of SR talks, with the last meeting held in December 2019 in New Delhi.

Doval will hold discussions on December 18. The SR mechanism, established in 2003, aims to address the unresolved boundary issue between the two nations. Talks at this level were stalled following the military standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh in April 2020.

India and China share a 3,488 km long un-demarcated and contested boundary. While maps detailing boundary perceptions have been exchanged in the central sector (Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand), consensus remains elusive in Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh.

The resumption of SR-level talks was a key outcome of PM Narendra Modi’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the 16th BRICS summit in Kazan.