New Delhi: India and China on Thursday began their talks on border mechanism here during which last month’s standoff in Ladakh was discussed as also the efforts to prevent such incidents from recurring in future.
The two-day talks, held under the framework of Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC), are being held to discuss various issues pertaining to the maintenance of peace and tranquility in the border areas, according to Indian officials.
Chinese government also expressed hope that India will not take any action which may complicate the situation before a final settlement is reached to end the boundary dispute and is expected to convey the same to the Indian side during the talks.
On India’s part, the Chinese incursion which lasted over three weeks last month in Demchok and Chumar remains a high priority concern.
The Chinese incursion had overshadowed the talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month when latter raised “serious concerns” over the repeated incidents along the border and sought an early settlement of the boundary question.
Established in 2012, the Mechanism has played a major role in addressing the issues arising of aggressive patrolling by both sides of the disputed border including last year’s standoff at Depsang Valley.
