India and China discuss disengagement in border areas during 29th round of diplomatic talks

Amid border tensions, India and China exchanged views on ways of achieving complete disengagement and resolving the issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Western Sector of India-China border areas, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in an official press release on Thursday.

This comes as India-China held its 29th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) on Wednesday in the Chinese capital, Beijing.

According to the official release, the meeting was co-chaired by the MEA Joint Secretary who led the Indian delegation and the Director General of the Boundary & Oceanic Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs led the Chinese delegation.

“The 29th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) was held on 27 March 2024 in Beijing. Joint Secretary (East Asia) from the Ministry of External Affairs led the Indian delegation. The Chinese delegation was led by Director General of the Boundary & Oceanic Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” the release read.

“The two sides had an in-depth exchange of views on how to achieve complete disengagement and resolve the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Western Sector of India-China border areas,” it added. After the meeting, both sides agreed to open diplomatic and military channels open to uphold peace and tranquility on the ground in the border areas.

“In the interim, both sides agreed to maintain regular contact through diplomatic and military channels and on the need to uphold peace and tranquility on the ground in the border areas in accordance with existing bilateral agreements and protocols,” Ministry said.

The 28th meeting of the WMCC was held in November last year, in which two sides reviewed the situation along the LAC in the Western Sector of the India-China border areas and engaged in an open, constructive, and in-depth discussion of proposals to resolve the remaining issues and achieve complete disengagement in Eastern Ladakh, MEA said in a press release.

They further agreed on the need to maintain peace and tranquility along the border areas, ensure a stable situation on the ground and avoid any untoward incidents. Meanwhile, India has again rejected the “absurd claims” and “baseless arguments” made by China on Arunachal Pradesh, asserting that the northeast State is an “integral and inalienable part of India.

“The Ministry of External Affairs in an official statement on March 19 noted that the people of Arunachal Pradesh will “continue to benefit” from India’s development programmes and infrastructure projects.

The Chinese defence ministry recently reiterated its claim over Arunachal Pradesh, terming the Indian State as “Zangan- an inherent part of China’s territory”.”Zangnan is China’s inherent territory, and China never recognizes and firmly opposes India’s illegal establishment of the so-called ‘Arunachal Pradesh’,” said spokesperson of the Ministry of National Defence Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang on March 15.

The Chinese military’s comments came a few days after India sent out a strong rebuttal to China for the latter’s comments on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh. (ANI)