Beijing: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has expressed his willingness to work closely with India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval to ‘properly handle’ issues related to the ground situation in the border areas amid the long-standing border dispute in eastern Ladakh. In a congratulatory message to Doval on his reappointment as India’s National Security Advisor and Special Representative for the India-China border issue, Wang said that China and India share a relationship that goes beyond bilateral borders and is of increasing global importance. Apart from being the Foreign Minister, Wang is also China’s Special Representative for the India-China Border Dialogue System.
China is ready to join hands
According to a report published by the official Xinhua news agency on Wednesday, Wang said that he is “ready to join hands with Doval to implement the important consensus reached between the leaders of the two countries, properly handle issues related to the ground situation in the border areas and jointly restore peace in the border areas.” Wang recently met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Astana, Kazakhstan. This was the first high-level meeting between Indian and Chinese officials after the formation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third government after the recent general elections in India.
The 22nd meeting of the Corps Commander level is going to be held
Formed in 2003 to comprehensively deal with the complex dispute over the 3,488 km long India-China border, the Special Representative mechanism is headed by India’s NSA and the Chinese Foreign Minister. Relations between the two countries, barring trade, have hit a low since the standoff broke out on the eastern Ladakh border on May 5, 2020 following a violent clash in the Pangong Tso (lake) area near Galwan. Since the clashes in May 2020, the two sides have held 21 rounds of Corps Commander-level talks so far to resolve the deadlock. The 22nd meeting is scheduled to take place.
India’s stand is clear
According to the Chinese Army, the two sides have so far agreed to withdraw from four points in eastern Ladakh – Galwan Valley, Pangong Lake, Hot Springs and Jianan Daban (Gogra). India has been pressuring the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to withdraw troops from the Depsang and Demchok areas and says that as long as the situation on the borders remains abnormal, normalcy in its relations with China cannot be restored. China’s own position is that the border question does not represent the entire China-India relationship, and it should be properly placed in bilateral relations.
