The two countries reviewed the situation in the region during a fresh round of online diplomatic talks under the framework of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on border affairs.
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi met his counterpart S M Krishna in New Delhi on Thursday in the backdrop of Beijing's objection over Defence Minister A K Antony's recent visit to Arunachal Pradesh. Jiechi arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday to soothe nerves and boost bilateral ties between the nations. He is also expected to lay the groundwork ahead of the visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao to India for the BRICS summit scheduled later in March.
The talks are following up the outcome of the 19th round of Corps Commander-level talks held between the two sides on August 13-14 at the Chushul Moldo border meeting point.
On Monday China said it has "effectively managed and controlled" frictions in certain border areas.
A joint statement released on Thursday said both sides exchanged views in an 'open and constructive' manner to resolve the 'relevant issues' and that it was agreed to maintain 'security and stability' on the ground in the region.
The Galwan clash occurred six months after the Doklam disengagement and two high-profile meetings. India should not be caught by surprise once again, asserts former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
A total of 750 pilgrims have been selected through a computerised draw for the upcoming Kailash Manasarovar Yatra in Tibet, marking the resumption of the pilgrimage after a five-year gap. The Yatra's resumption is seen as an attempt to normalize India-China relations, which were strained by the eastern Ladakh border standoff. The pilgrimage will begin in June and continue until August, with pilgrims traveling in five batches via the Lipulekh route and ten batches via the Nathu La route. The selection process was deemed "fair, computer-generated, random, gender-balanced" by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), which organized the pilgrimage.
Qin, who is visiting New Delhi to attend the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting on Thursday, is expected to meet Jaishankar on its sidelines though the foreign ministry here is tight-lipped about it.
Situated at a height of 15,200 feet above sea level, the pass sits on the top of a craggily formed Himalayan range that separates the Tibetan plateau from the Indian sub-continent.
India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri will travel to Beijing for a two-day trip beginning Sunday, marking the second high-profile visit from India to China in less than one-and-a-half months. The visit comes amidst ongoing border tensions and follows a recent disengagement pact between the two countries in eastern Ladakh. The Foreign Secretary-Vice Minister mechanism meeting will focus on the next steps for India-China relations, including in the political, economic, and people-to-people domains. The decision to revive this bilateral mechanism was taken at a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Kazan in October.
India and China to hold the 11th round of corps commander-level talks at Chushul in eastern Ladakh at 10.30 am on Friday that is expected to focus on disengagement of troops in remaining friction points, sources within the Indian Army said.
This meeting is taking place after a gap of around four months.
The exercises will be held after a gap of one year as both the sides were locked in a 73-day standoff in Doklam in the Sikkim sector of the border in 2017.
If China is accommodating regarding Depsang and Demchok, a resolution of the Sino-India territorial dispute in Eastern Ladakh could be possible.
Asked about the reports of the troops on both sides disengaging and moving back to their previous positions, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing in Beijing that both sides are taking steps to ease the situation along the borders.
The Chinese and the Indian troops were engaged in a standoff for 73 days in Doklam.
India has a 'fundamentally healthy' relationship with China that goes beyond the boundary issue, Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor stated on Tuesday."The relationship should not be seen only in the context of the problems, it should also be seen in the context of the opportunity," he said when asked about the India-China border talks last week. Tharoor said, "We are very pleased to say that, by and large, the relationship remains healthy."
The United States is closely monitoring the situation along the India-China border, a senior official said on Tuesday and expressed concerns over Beijing's pattern of ongoing attempts to intimidate its neighbours.
'The government will ensure that India's pride is not affected as far as the situation along Indo-China border is concerned'
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal ahead of his first state visit to the United States, Modi also talked about the Ukraine conflict, saying some people say that India is neutral but it is on the side of peace.
India said it is strongly committed to ensuring its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
'They also agreed that for the overall development of bilateral relations it was essential to maintain enduring peace and tranquillity in the border areas,' the MEA said in a statement.
The last contact between India and China was the military talks at the Corps Commander level in October this year.
The disengagement of troops of the Indian Army and China's People's Liberation Army from the Line of Actual Control was reached after sustained negotiations at the military and diplomatic level, said the ministry of external affairs last week.
In the fresh round of talks, the Indian side is expected to press for disengagement of troops as soon as possible in all the remaining friction points besides seeking resolution of issues in Depsang Bulge and Demchok.
India and China on Friday held 'in-depth' discussions on addressing the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, holding that disengagement in the North and South banks of Pangong lake provided a good basis to work towards their early resolution.
The Army said Gen Pande witnessed Parvat Prahar exercise besides interacting with officers and troops deployed in the region. The exercise featured a display of operational capabilities by artillery guns and other key weapon systems.
Jaishankar said the last few years have been a "period of serious challenge", both for the relationship and for the prospects of Asia, noting that continuation of the current impasse will not benefit either India or China.
'During disengagement, you don't find violence.' 'And that, too, the killing of a commanding officer.' 'This indicates that this is more serious than previous incidents.'
India and China have agreed to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas which was a "pre-requisite" for continued growth of bilateral relations as also to enhance cooperation in key areas, including counter-terrorism, maritime security and civil nuclear energy sector.
Wang also condemned the April 22 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, which had cross-border linkages and triggered the worst fighting between India and Pakistan in years.
The sixth round of India-China special representative-level border negotiations began in Beijing on Monday as part of efforts of the two Asian giants to reach a package to solve the vexed boundary issue.
A deft hand on India-China relations, Bambawale earlier handled the China desk at the MEA.
The report said that Indian officials believe China is trying to contain India by forcing it to divert more resources into defending simultaneously both its western border with Pakistan and eastern flank with China and by weakening its willingness and ability to challenge Chinese ambitions to dominate the region.
"The meeting thus did not result in resolution of the remaining areas," the Army said in a statement.
India and China are likely to hold the 16th round of high-level military talks on July 17 to resolve the issues in remaining friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, people familiar with the development said on Wednesday.
Jaishankar also said that there is a need to take the disengagement process forward.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that he had a productive meeting with visiting External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during which they discussed the bilateral ties, COVID-19 relief efforts, India-China border situation and Afghanistan and vowed to work together to address areas of shared concern.
After a gap of over three months, India and China on Wednesday are holding another round of high-level military talks to resolve the 20-month-long military standoff in the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh, sources in the security establishment said.
The Wednesday talks took place amid a war of words between the two sides on perception of the LAC, the de-facto Sino-India border spanning a length of nearly 3,500 km.
