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India reiterated the need for early convening of the next meeting of the Expert Level Mechanism on trans-border rivers and emphasised the importance of sharing technical details on China's upstream projects, as India and China held discussions on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), boundary issues and border management at the 36th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC).
The meeting was held on Thursday in the national capital with the Indian delegation led by Joint Secretary (East Asia) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Sujit Ghosh, while the Chinese delegation was headed by Hou Yanqi, Director General of the Boundary and Oceanic Affairs Department of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to an MEA release issued on Friday. During the meeting, both sides held frank discussions and reviewed the situation along the LAC. They underlined that maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas remained essential for the overall development of bilateral relations. "Both sides agreed to continue to use existing diplomatic and military channels, including the WMCC, local commander-level meetings and other agreed mechanisms, to resolve outstanding issues and avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation along the LAC," the MEA said. As a follow-up to the outcomes of the 24th round of the Special Representatives (SR) talks that took place last year, the two sides also held detailed exchanges on issues related to boundary delimitation, border management, mechanism-building and trans-border cooperation. "As a follow-up to the outcomes of 24th SR Talks, two sides held detailed exchanges on issues related to boundary delimitation, border management, mechanism-building and trans-border cooperation," the MEA release added. The Indian side specifically reiterated the need for an early meeting of the Expert Level Mechanism on trans-border rivers and stressed the importance of sharing technical details regarding upstream projects. "The Indian side reiterated the need for early convening of the next meeting of the Expert Level Mechanism on trans-border rivers and emphasised the importance of sharing technical details on upstream projects," MEA stated. The meeting followed the 35th WMCC held in Beijing in May, where both sides described the discussions as "constructive and forward-looking". According to an MEA release, the two sides reviewed the situation in the border areas between India and China, expressing satisfaction with progress in maintaining peace and tranquillity along the border. They also noted that this stability has enabled the gradual normalisation of bilateral relations. Last year in August, during the 24th round of the India-China Special Representatives' dialogue, both sides discussed measures to maintain peace and tranquillity along the border and advance the boundary settlement process. During the 24th SR talks, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, during the latter's visit to India, had agreed on the need to approach the boundary question from the perspective of the overall bilateral relationship while seeking a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable framework for settlement in accordance with the 2005 Agreement on Political Parameters and Guiding Principles. The two sides had also agreed to establish an Expert Group under the WMCC to explore early progress in boundary delimitation, set up a Working Group to improve border management, create additional General Level Mechanisms in the eastern and middle sectors, and continue using diplomatic and military channels to address border-related issues. The MEA said both sides remain committed to maintaining communication through established mechanisms to ensure stability and prevent misunderstandings along the LAC. (ANI)
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