No progress at India-China border talks

No progress at India-China border talks

India and China failed to make headway in resolving their protracted military stand-off at eastern Ladakh at the 29th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) held in Beijing on Wednesday.

The Indian team was led by the Joint Secretary (East Asia) in the Ministry of External Affairs while the Director General of the Boundary & Oceanic Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs headed the Chinese delegation.

“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,” the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday.

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.

India and China have held umpteen rounds of talks both at the diplomatic and military levels but the border stalemate, which started in April-May 2020, has not ended. The border row has resulted in the bilateral relationship between the two countries plummeting to a new low.