India on Tuesday conveyed to China the importance of maintaining peace and tranquility along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) for overall bilateral ties as National Security Advisor Ajit Doval held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi focusing on delimitation of the frontier and sustaining work on trans-boundary cooperation.
In New Delhi, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Doval and Wang had “candid and in-depth” exchange of views on the India-China boundary question and agreed to continue their work in seeking a “political settlement” of the issue in the context of “overall and long-term interests”.
Doval landed in Beijing on Monday on a two-day visit and his trip is largely seen as part of ongoing efforts by the two neighbours to rebuild their relationship after it came under severe strain following the deadly Galwan Valley clashes in 2020.
“The Indian side highlighted the importance of maintaining peace and tranquility in the India-China border areas for the continued development and progress of the bilateral relationship,” it said.
Held under the framework of Special Representatives dialogue, the Doval-Wang talks came weeks before Chinese President Xi Jinping’s anticipated visit to India for the upcoming BRICS summit.
Doval and Wang are the designated Special Representative for the talks.“Under the strategic guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping, and in a constructive and forward-looking spirit, the two Special Representatives had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on the India-China boundary question and agreed to continue their work in seeking a political settlement of the boundary question in the context of their overall and long-term interests,” the MEA said.
The Indian embassy in Beijing said the two sides “positively reviewed” the ongoing momentum in bilateral relations in line with the vision of PM Modi and President Xi.
"They discussed ways to further expand bilateral cooperation, maintain stability and ensure peace and tranquility in the border areas, and make progress on boundary delimitation, while sustaining the ongoing work on transboundary cooperation," it said.
The Special Representatives (SR) dialogue took place amid reports of aggressive military posturing by Chinese troops along the LAC in Upper Subansiri region of Arunachal Pradesh.
In his remarks at the meeting, Doval said that normalcy in the ties has been a direct result of both sides maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas.
"I am very happy we are here for the 25th round of talks which are very important, particularly in the wake of the BRICS summit to happen shortly," he said.
"We meet in keeping with the guidance of our leaders, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping, who have given clear and positive direction to our relationship both at Kazan and Tianjin," Doval said, referring to the meetings the two leaders held on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Russia in 2024 and the SCO summit in China last year.
Referring to progress made by the two sides in normalising the ties following the eastern Ladakh military standoff, Doval said the bilateral relationship has been steadily returning to normalcy.
“The normalcy we have witnessed in our relationship has been a direct result of both sides maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas,” he said.
“We have extensively talked about it today just to see how to effectively reinforce and further consolidate our efforts to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas,” he said in an apparent reference to differences over the border and Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims as South Tibet.
Doval also talked about advances made by the two countries in improving people-to-people ties.
"The successful conduct of Kailash Manasarovar Yatra via Nathu La and resumption of our traditional border trade via all the three passes brought tangible benefits for our people, particularly people living in the border areas,” he said.
The MEA said the sides also discussed bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest.
In his remarks, Wang said the China-India relationship has gone beyond the bilateral scope and taken on global and strategic significance.
“It is important for us to step up communication, to enhance mutual trust, to remove disturbances and overcome obstacles. We need to be good friends that enjoy good neighbourliness and be good partners that contribute to each other’s success,” he said.
Wang also talked about adding new impetus to the ties during the talks with Doval.
"I look forward to continuing to have in-depth exchange of views with you on issues of shared interest to better understand each other and to properly handle the boundary question, to not only maintain peace and tranquillity in the border area but also inject new impetus for the bilateral relationship,” he said.
Wang also said the two sides have stayed in regular communication through diplomatic and military channels on boundary affairs, implementing the guidance of PM Modi and President Xi.
Both Doval and Wang are the designated SRs for the boundary talks mechanism, which was established in 2003 to comprehensively address the dispute of the India-China border spanning 3,488 km.
While success eluded it in resolving the boundary dispute, officials on both sides regard the structured mechanism as a useful tool in addressing the recurring tensions between the two countries on various fronts. (AGENCIES)