Shri Ajit Doval, National Security Advisor and India's Special Representative (SR) on the India-China boundary question will hold the 23rd meeting of the SRs in Beijing on 18 December 2024 with his Chinese counterpart H.E. Mr. Wang Yi, Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs of China. As agreed during the two leaders' meeting in Kazan on 23 October 2024, the two SRs will discuss the management of peace & tranquility in the border areas and explore a fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable solution to the boundary question.
India’s Special Representative for the dialogue is National Security Advisor Ajit Doval while the Chinese side is headed at the talks by Foreign Minister Wang Yi. (@China_Amb_India/X)
The Special Representatives meeting between Ajit Doval and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi will be held after a five-year gap. The SR meeting last took place in 2019.
Just over a week after India and China parted from official-level talks in New Delhi after the disengagement process at two locations along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh, their Special Representatives are gearing up for a meeting in Beijing on Wednesday.
The Indian Special Representative for the dialogue is National Security Advisor Ajit Doval while the Chinese side is led at the talks by Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
The spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Lin Jian, said that under the sentiments of both countries, the “23rd meeting of Special Representatives for China-India boundary question” will be held in Beijing on 18 December.
India and China had an official WMCC on India-China Border Affairs in Delhi on December 5 when both sides “looked back at the experience” that they gained from the border confrontation to “acknowledge the importance of effective borders management and preservation of peace and order.”
About the WMCC
- It is an institutional arrangement meant to enable information sharing, cooperation, and regulation of bilateral boundary affairs between India and China.
- It was established by an India-China treaty in 2012 to monitor the peace agreement between the two countries. It arose when the need for reform of institutionalized information exchange concerning the border area was realized.
- Such a mechanism was initially proposed by the then-Premier of China, Wen Jiabao in early 2010.
Composition and Function
- The WMCC has civil representatives from the foreign and defence ministries of both countries.
- Its major purposes are in solving border issues and improving relations and coordination.
- In particular, the WMCC is established on the Indian border with China which borders on the conflict-prone region.
WMCC on India-China Border Issue
- It was rolled out after the stand-off along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) started in the year 2020.
- The discussion was described as detailed, positive, and proactive and both parties vowed to sustain the process through diplomatic and military diplomatic ties.
- The talks come at a time when signals of the two countries trying to de-escalate the tension on the LAC in eastern Ladakh have emerged.
Line of Actual Control (LAC)
– The LAC is the demarcation that separates Indian-controlled territory from Chinese-controlled territory.
– India considers the LAC to be 3,488 km long, while the Chinese consider it to be only around 2,000 km.
It is divided into three sectors:
1. The eastern sector which spans Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim.
2. The middle sector in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, and
3. The western sector in Ladakh. LAC in the eastern sector consisting of Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim is called the McMahon Line which is 1,140 km long.
Major friction points along the India-China border
– Depsang Plains: This area is strategically situated in the northern frontiers of Ladakh, and the Chinese have been seen to have intruded into the area.
– Demchok: This is a region in the eastern region of Ladakh and has experienced disagreement with the boundary line of India and China.
– Pangong Lake: This sector has been a hotbed of tension between both these countries as Chinese troops have tried to alter the status quo on the LAC here.
– Gogra and Hot Springs: Both these places are in eastern Ladakh and the recent past there have been occasions of the face-off between Indian and Chinese troops.
– Arunachal Pradesh: This northeastern state of India is also claimed by China and has been one the biggest bone of contention between India and China.
What distinguishes the LAC from the Line of Control with Pakistan?
– It was established from the 1948 ceasefire line that was drawn by the United Nations after the Kashmir War.
– It was called the LoC in 1972 after signing the Shimla Agreement between the two nations. One is drawn on a map which has been signed by the directors general of military operations/operations for both armies and it has the international legal status of an agreement.
– The Line of Actual Control (LAC) is a concept, it is not a legally defined border, it is not marked on maps and so not demarcated on the ground.
Peace is Significant for both India and China
- Economic cooperation: The India and China markets are two of the world’s largest and growing edges and respective bettering of economic relations can increase this trade and investment.
- Regional stability: India and China are the two most powerful countries in Asia, and the relations between these two countries define the situation in the region.
- Border security: Friendly relations between two countries are imperative for ensuring and sustaining border integrity as well as non-confrontation along the border area.
- Geopolitics: India and China are both giants of the modern world and both are important parts of the international relations systems, so it is crucially important to develop stable and peaceful relations between them.
Challenges in the Peace Process
- Military Build-up: The current military deployment around the border by both countries has fuelled escalation in hostility and rendered the peace process even more complex.
- Historical Issues: Such topics of conflict history as the Sino-Indian War of 1962 also influence the skeleton of the existing relations between the two countries.
- Border Disputes: Although, the two neighbours have participated in several interactions neither of them has been able to find a sustainable solution to the frontier issue more so along the LAC.
Way Ahead
- It should also be noted that sustaining the peace process which had started with the government of India and the government of China also requires more effort to contain these challenges and build goodwill and understanding.
- It is necessary to pursue the continuation of the discussions through military and diplomatic contacts and to actively advance the important agreements made by the heads of the two countries to maintain further stabilization of the state borders.
- Altogether, better relations between the two neighbours, India and China, are crucial to their own and the strategic economic and political well-being of the region and the world.
At the WMCC meeting, after they agreed to revive several dialogue mechanisms, both sides said that its Special Representatives’ dialogue on boundary questions would be resumed. The most recent action of the Speak in the Special Representatives’ dialogue was held in New Delhi in December 2019.
The meeting was the first between the top officials since the signing of the border patrolling agreement on the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh on October 21, followed by an informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, on October 23.
Following the WMCC talks, the MEA said: “They also worked on the preparation of the following session of the Special Representatives which is to take place under the terms of the decision made by both leaders during their meeting in Kazan on October 23.” The mechanism of dialogue was renovated in the meeting between Modi and Xi.
In the meantime, unlike internal demarcation where India and Pakistan have achieved physical separation through a process of physical withdrawal process, between India and China, the pullback is complete but the process of lowering the temperature is the next stage after over four and a half years of the border standoff followed by de-militarisation of troops.
With inputs from agencies
Image Source: Multiple agencies
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