India, China hold diplomatic talks on Ladakh standoff, MEA says 'both sides agreed on upholding peace'

New Delhi: India and China on Wednesday held "constructive" and "forward-looking" diplomatic talks to resolve the over four-year border standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh but there was clear no indication of any breakthrough. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said restoration of peace and tranquillity, and respect for the LAC are "essential basis" for restoration of normalcy in bilateral relations.

The talks, held in Delhi under the framework of Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC), came days after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Vientiane, the capital of Lao PDR.

The MEA described the discussion at the meeting as "in-depth, constructive and forward-looking", adding both sides agreed on the need to jointly uphold peace and tranquillity on the ground in accordance with relevant bilateral agreements and protocols. However, there was no clear indication of a breakthrough in the talks. The Chinese delegation was led by Hong Liang, Director General of the Boundary and Oceanic Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Liang also called on Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, according to the MEA. The previous round of WMCC talks were held in Beijing in March. "Further to discussions between the two foreign ministers in their recent meetings at Astana and Vientiane, the two sides reviewed the current situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with a view to finding an early resolution of the outstanding issues," the ministry said.

"Restoration of peace and tranquillity, and respect for the LAC are an essential basis for restoration of normalcy in bilateral relations," it said. "They agreed on the need to jointly uphold peace and tranquillity on the ground in the border areas in accordance with relevant bilateral agreements, protocols and understandings reached between the two governments, " it said in a statement.

"The discussion at the meeting was in-depth, constructive and forward-looking. Both sides agreed to maintain the momentum through the established diplomatic and military channels," it said. Joint Secretary (East Asia) in the MEA, Gourangalal Das, led the Indian delegation at the 30th meeting of the WMCC.

External Affairs Minister Jaishankar and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang held talks on July 25 in Vientiane on the sidelines of ASEAN-related meetings. In the talks, both ministers agreed on the need to work with "purpose and urgency" to achieve complete disengagement at the earliest in the remaining friction points along the LAC in eastern Ladakh. The two foreign ministers also had a bilateral meeting in Astana on July 4 on the sidelines of the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

In the meeting, Jaishankar reaffirmed India's persistent view that the relations between the two sides must be based on mutual respect, mutual interest and mutual sensitivity. The Indian and Chinese militaries have been locked in a standoff since May 2020 and a full resolution of the border row has not yet been achieved though the two sides have disengaged from a number of friction points. The ties between the two countries nosedived significantly following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.

India has been maintaining that its ties with China cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areas. The two sides have so far held 21 rounds of Corps Commander-level talks to resolve the standoff. India has been pressing the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to disengage from the Depsang and Demchok areas. The two sides held the last round of high-level military talks in February.

(WITH INPUTS FROM AGENCY)

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