New Delhi: Diplomats of India and China on Wednesday held the 19th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on India-China Border Affairs.
The Indian delegation was led by joint secretary (East Asia) Naveen Srivastava of the external affairs ministry and Hong Liang, director-general of the boundary and oceanic department of China’s foreign ministry.
Senior diplomats from the two countries met via video link under the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on border affairs.
The last time the WMCC met was on August 20. The two countries were unable to bridge the differences on the disengagement of the two militaries at the meeting.
The statement issued by MEA on Wednesday's WMMC meeting reiterated that both sides agreed to continue to maintain close consultations at the diplomatic and military level.
“In this regard, they agreed that the next (7th) round of the meeting of Senior Commanders should be held at an early date so that both sides can work towards early and complete disengagement of the troops along the LAC in accordance with the existing bilateral agreement and protocols, and fully restore peace and tranquillity”, the statement read.
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“The two sides reviewed the current situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the India-China border areas and had frank and detailed discussions on the developments since the last meeting of the WMCC on 20 August 2020”, the Ministry of External Affairs statement said.
The two sides attached importance to the meetings between the two Defence Ministers and the two Foreign Ministers held earlier this month. They also noted that the agreement between the two Foreign Ministers should be sincerely implemented to ensure disengagement at all the friction points along the LAC.
The Ministry of External noted that the two sides positively evaluated the outcome of the 6th Senior Commanders meeting on 21 September.
Both India and China emphasized the need to implement the steps outlined in the joint press release issued after the last meeting of the senior commanders so as to avoid misunderstandings and to maintain stability on the ground.
In this context, the need to strengthen communication, especially between the ground commanders, was emphasized by both sides.
Earlier today, spokesperson of Chinese Foreign Ministry Wang Wenbin said, “Currently, China and India are holding the 19th meeting of the WMCC on border affairs. The main topics (being) discussed are how to implement the five-point consensus reached in Moscow (on September 10) by the two foreign ministers to resolve outstanding issues on the ground and to ease the situation along the border”.
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In his response at a regular ministry press conference on Wednesday, Wang referred to the meeting between external affairs minister, S Jaishankar and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Moscow on September 10.
The two sides had reached an agreement on five points during talks between Jaishankar and Wang, comprising dialogue aimed at quick disengagement, maintaining proper distance between troops of the two sides and easing tensions.
The agreement was done abiding by all agreements and protocols on border management, and working on new confidence-building measures once the situation eases.
The tension between India-China seems to be flaring up and sharp differences have come to public notice after China on Tuesday claimed its 1959 line is the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to which India rejected saying it as 'untenable, unilateral.'
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