Indian, Chinese officials review situation in border areas

Ahead of the next round of talks on the India-China boundary issue, senior officials of both sides met here on Wednesday to review the situation in border areas and explore measures on effective management of the undemarcated boundary between the two countries.

The 34th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) was held on Wednesday to prepare for the next round of the Special Representatives' talks in India later this year.

Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi are the Special Representatives of the respective countries. 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".

On Wednesday, the WMCC expressed satisfaction with the general prevalence of peace and tranquillity in the border areas, leading to gradual normalisation of bilateral relations, said the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in statement.

“The WMCC agreed to maintain regular exchange and contact on issues related to the boundary affairs at the diplomatic and military levels through established mechanisms,” said the MEA, adding that the two sides “deliberated on various measures explored during the previous round of SR talks”.

The Indian delegation 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 also 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.