India, China aim for mutually acceptable settlement of boundary issue

NSA attended first meeting of Special Representatives since 2020 border clashes, held in Beijing

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday aimed for a “reasonable and mutually acceptable framework” to resolve the border issue and held discussions for the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra during the Special Representatives (SRs) meeting in Beijing.

 

The meeting, first since 2020, also saw the two sides exchange views on bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest. Data sharing on trans-border rivers and border trade has also been agreed to be discussed as part of the mechanism.

 

The meeting saw the two countries reiterate the importance of maintaining a political perspective of the overall bilateral relationship as part of efforts to resolve the border issue, a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs said.

 

"The SRs positively affirmed the implementation of the latest disengagement agreement of October 2024, resulting in patrolling and grazing in relevant areas," the statement said.

 

The two sides agreed to “inject more vitality into this process”, which will be carried out at the next meeting in India next year, it stressed.

 

Apart from underlining the importance of maintaining peace and tranquillity at the border, both sides emphasised the need to “ensure peaceful conditions on the ground”.

 

"Drawing on the learnings from the events of 2020, they discussed various measures to maintain peace and tranquillity on the border and advance effective border management," the release said.

 

Both sides will coordinate and guide the relevant diplomatic and military mechanisms towards this purpose.

 

As part of cross-border cooperation and exchanges, the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra was also discussed. The annual pilgrimage to the sacred mount Kailash, located in the Tibet region, was last held in 2019.

 

The SRs met in accordance with the decision taken during the recent meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, on the margins of the Brics summit in Kazan, Russia. Both sides had aimed to meet at an early date to oversee the management of peace and tranquility in border areas and to explore a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution to the border issue.

 

Doval also called on China’s vice-president Han Zheng.