NSA Ajit Doval to meet Chinese FM to discuss boundary issue on Dec 18

Beijing: National Security Advisor Ajit Doval will meet and hold discussions with the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on December 18 in Beijing for the 23rd Special Representatives meeting.

“As agreed by China and India, China's Special Representative on the China-India boundary question, Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi and India's Special Representative and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval will hold the 23rd meeting of Special Representatives for China-India Boundary Question in Beijing on December 18,” Chineses Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian announced on Monday.

Earlier, PM Modi and Chinese President Xi had decided during their meeting to revive several mechanisms, including meetings of the Special Representatives, to address the border issue and normalise bilateral relations.

Since then, the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on India-China border affairs met in New Delhi on December 5 and agreed on maintaining peace and tranquillity on the disputed frontier in line with bilateral agreements and protocols.

The Special Representatives mechanism was created in 2003 to explore the “framework of a boundary settlement”.

Since then, 22 formal rounds of talks have been held under the mechanism, the last being in 2019.

During the military standoff on the LAC that began in April-May 2020, the Special Representatives held talks several times to find ways to end the face-off.

The standoff, and a brutal clash at Galwan Valley in June the same year that killed 20 Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese troops, had taken bilateral ties to their lowest point since the 1962 border war.

IANS