India, China pledge to resolve their border dispute at earliest
India and China on Saturday resolved to “intensify” their efforts to achieve a “fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable” solution to the vexed boundary question at an early date as the special representatives of the two countries held “constructive and forward-looking” talks over the issue.
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met in Chengdu in southwestern Sichuan province for the 21st round of Special Representatives’ talks.
While an early solution would serve the fundamental interests of both the countries, the two designated Special Representatives for the border talks also said pending the final solution, the two countries should maintain peace and tranquillity at the borders, ensuring that the dispute does not affect the overall development of bilateral ties.
The India-China border dispute covers 3,488-km-long Line of Actual Control (LAC). China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet. This was the first round of talks for Wang after he succeeded State Councillor Yang Jiechi earlier this year. Wang has become the state councillor, a rank higher than the foreign minister in the Chinese government’s hierarchy.
“Recalling the strategic guidance and support to their work provided by the leaders at the Wuhan Summit, the Special Representatives resolved to intensify their efforts to achieve a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution to the India-China boundary question at an early date,” according to a statement issued by the Indian Embassy in Beijing after the border talks said.
They were referring to the outcome of the first ever informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in April this year in Wuhan. Doval and Wang “underlined the importance of approaching the boundary question from the strategic perspective of India-China relations and agreed that an early settlement of the boundary question serves the fundamental interests of both countries,” the statement said.