India meets China to talk over additional CBMs

Committing to build trust and understanding, India and China discussed early implementation of Border Defence Cooperation Agreement as part of possible additional confidence-building measures at the two-day meeting of their Special Representatives which concluded here today.

At the 17th round of the Special Representative talks, the two sides held elaborate discussions on ways to ensure peace and tranquility on the border besides overall bilateral relations and international and regional issues.

"The Special Representatives elaborated on possible additional confidence-building measures, including the early implementation of the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA)," External Affairs Ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin told reporters.

The Indian side was led by National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon while the Chinese delegation was headed by Yang Jiechi.

The BDCA, signed late last year, spells out a series of measures to enhance coordination between the armies of the two countries along the disputed 4,057 km long Line of Actual Control.

The SRs, who have been engaged addressing the boundary issue for over eight years, are in the second of the three-phased process. The first phase -- Political Parameters and Guiding Principles -- has already been completed and the current step of building the framework for a settlement is considered the most difficult part.

The third and final step will be demarcation and delineation of the boundary.

Asked how long it will take to reach the settlement, the MEA spokesman refused to hazard a guess, arguing that the issue is "complex". However, he added that both sides are seriously working to reach a settlement.