NEW DELHI: India on Wednesday emphasised the need for a “mutually acceptable framework” for settling the boundary issue with China as talks between Special Representatives of the two sides focused on cross-border cooperation, such as resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, data sharing on trans-border rivers and border trade.
The readout issued by the Indian side following the meeting in Beijing between National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi, however, made no mention of a six-point consensus the Chinese foreign ministry claimed was reached by the two sides. Doval and Wang are the two Special Representatives on the border issue.
The Indian readout said the Special Representatives “reiterated the importance of maintaining a political perspective of the overall bilateral relationship while seeking a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable framework for settlement of the boundary question”.
Doval and Wang “provided positive directions for cross-border cooperation and exchanges including resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, data sharing on trans-border rivers and border trade”, the readout said. They agreed on the importance of “stable, predictable and amicable India-China relations for regional and global peace”.
The readout further said: “Both SRs underlined the importance of maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas to promote overall development of the India-China bilateral relationship.” They “emphasised the need to ensure peaceful conditions on the ground so that issues on the border do not hold back the normal development of bilateral relations”.
China’s foreign ministry issued two separate statements on the meeting of the Special Representatives, one of which claimed Doval and Wang reached a consensus on six points, including properly handling the border issue so as not to affect bilateral ties, resumption of pilgrimages by Indians to Tibet, cross-border river cooperation, and border trade at Nathula.
The Indian readout was silent on the issue of consensus on these matters. People familiar with developments said on condition of anonymity that the issues referred to in the Chinese foreign ministry’s statement had figured in the discussions though it would be inaccurate to describe the outcome as a consensus.
This was the first meeting of the Special Representatives since India and China reached an understanding on October 21 that led to the disengagement of frontline forces at the two “friction points” of Demchok and Depsang in the Ladakh sector of the LAC. It was also the first meeting under the Special Representatives mechanism since the start of the military standoff on the LAC in 2020.
“The SRs positively affirmed the implementation of the latest disengagement agreement of October 2024, resulting in patrolling and grazing in relevant areas,” the Indian readout said. Doval and Wang also discussed measures to maintain peace and tranquillity on the border and advance effective border management, and decided to “use, coordinate and guide the relevant diplomatic and military mechanisms towards this purpose”, it said.
The statement issued by China’s foreign ministry that referred to consensus on six points contended the two sides had “agreed to further refine the management and control rules in the border area” and “strengthen confidence-building measures”. The second statement issued by the Chinese side also referred to putting the “border issue in an appropriate position in bilateral relations” while pushing bilateral ties “back on the track of healthy and stable development”.
This was in line with Beijing’s stated position throughout the four-year standoff that the border issue should be separated from trade and economic ties. India, on the other hand, had made it clear that the overall relationship could not be normalised without peace and tranquillity on the LAC.
Following his talks with Wang, Doval met Chinese vice president Han Zheng. Doval also invited Wang to visit India at a mutually convenient date for the next meeting of the Special Representatives.
The military standoff on the LAC, especially a brutal clash in Galwan Valley in June 2020 that killed 20 Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese troops, took bilateral relations to their lowest point since the 1962 border war.
Following the understanding on disengagement on the LAC, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the margins of the Brics Summit in Russia on October 23 and agreed to revive several mechanisms to address the border issue and normalise bilateral relations. This was followed by meetings between external affairs minister S Jaishankar and foreign minister Wang met on the margins of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro on November 18, and defence minister Rajnath Singh and his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun on the sidelines of the Asean Defence Ministers-Plus meeting in Vientiane on November 20.