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The 23rd meeting of the “Special Representatives” (SRs) of India and China — National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister and Senior Politburo member Wang Yi — was a milestone in the restoration of ties since October this year. Although the meeting of SRs is a stand-alone process, meant to look at the broader boundary dispute and resolve differences over the 3,500 kilometre-long Line of Actual Control (LAC), it had been paused since the military standoff in 2020. There were a few firsts too: the two men meeting in their capacities as SRs since 2019, although they have held talks in the interim; such a high-level visit to China and also Mr. Doval travelling to Beijing since 2020. This indicates that the decision to hold the SR talks, as mandated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping during talks in Kazan in October, is a signal that with only LAC disengagement completed, New Delhi is willing to move ahead on other mechanisms for talks with Beijing, without waiting for the next processes of de-escalation and de-induction. The two sides have agreed to restart the Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra from India, border trade in Sikkim, and data sharing for trans-boundary rivers. Other suspended ties, including direct flights, business and student visa liberalisation, and journalist exchanges, are also understood to be under discussion. On the boundary question, the Doval-Wang talks yielded what the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs termed as “six consensuses”, and the Ministry of External Affairs referred to as “positive directions” in its release. These involve continuing to implement the LAC de-escalation process; revert to the SR process on resolving the boundary issue according to the Eleven-articles set out in a 2005 agreement; strengthen Confidence Building Measures at the border and cross-border exchanges; enhance coordination of the SR process, and the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs to follow up agreements and to hold the next Doval-Wang talks in 2025 in India.
The optics and the messaging of the SR meeting indicate a certain momentum in re-engagement after four years of serious military tensions, and the suspension of regular contact, although bilateral trade continued to thrive. The meeting comes just ahead of 2025, that marks 75 years of diplomatic relations, and a likely visit to China by Mr. Modi as it hosts the next SCO summit. While restoring the links is important, it is necessary to strike a note of caution so that the situation caused by the amassing of troops and LAC transgressions by the PLA in 2020 is not repeated. The government must also ensure more transparency in its conversations with Beijing over the future steps in normalising ties, the dismantling of buffer zones, restoration of status quo ante to 2020, and mechanisms for future deterrence against aggression at the India-China boundary.
Published – December 20, 2024 12:20 am IST
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Positive direction: On India-China talks, ties
