National Security Advisor Ajit Doval traveled here on Tuesday to participate in India-China Special Representatives talks, which will take place on Wednesday, and try to restore bilateral ties that have been halted for almost four years owing to the military stalemate in eastern Ladakh.
Doval will hold the 23rd round of Special Representative (SR) talks with his Chinese counterpart and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and was expected to discuss a range of issues to rebuild bilateral ties following the two countries’ October 21 agreement on disengagement and patrolling in eastern Ladakh.
Ahead of important meetings, China said on Tuesday that it is prepared to honor promises based on shared understandings established by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping at their meeting in Kazan, Russia, on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit on October 24.
“China stands ready to work with India to deliver on important common understandings reached between our two leaders, enhance mutual trust and confidence through dialogue and communication, honor our commitments, and promote our bilateral relations to return to sound and steady growth,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a media briefing when asked about the SR talks.
The Ministry of External Affairs stated on Monday: “As agreed during the meeting of the two leaders in Kazan on October 23, the two SRs will discuss the management of peace and tranquillity in the border areas and explore a fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable solution to the boundary question.”
Following PM Modi-Xi’s first meeting in five years, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart met on the sidelines of the G20 conference in Brazil, followed by a meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on China-India Border Affairs (WMCC).
The military stalemate along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh began in May 2020, followed by a violent battle in the Galwan Valley in June of that year, causing a serious strain in relations between the two neighbors. Except for commerce, ties between the two countries have almost come to a halt.
The standoff ultimately concluded on October 21 with the conclusion of the disengagement procedure from Demchok and Depsang, which was finalized under an agreement. Wednesday’s SR meeting is noteworthy since it is the first formal interaction between the two countries to repair relations. After a five-year hiatus, the SRs convene again. The latest meeting was held in 2019 in Delhi.
The SRs mechanism, established in 2003 to settle the long-standing dispute over the 3,488-kilometer boundary between India and China, has convened 22 times over the years. While it did not succeed in settling the border issue, authorities on both sides see it as a highly promising, helpful, and practical instrument for addressing the two nations’ ongoing difficulties.
