Special Representatives for the border mechanism, i.e. NSA Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, met in Beijing on Wednesday. NSA is heading the Indian delegation, and Wang Yi will represent Beijing at the 23rd round of special representatives-level talks between the two countries that is being held after five years, last held in December 2019 at Delhi.
They are expected to discuss a set of issues to build bilateral ties that dived south following Chinese incursions in eastern Ladakh, leading to a deadly military clash in the Galwan Valley and a standoff near the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The road towards balanced relations: Events that lead to the meet.
After Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met at the outskirts of the BRICS summit in October at Kazan, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar and Wang Yi met on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro in November, followed by a meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on China-India Border Affairs (WMCC).
The WMCC meeting in New Delhi on 5th December “reflected on the lessons” learnt from the border standoff and emphasized the need for “effective border maintenance of peace and tranquillity.”
On Monday night, the ministry of external affairs said, “As agreed during the meeting of the two leaders in Kazan on October 23, the two SRs will discuss the management of peace and tranquillity in the border areas and explore a fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable solution to the boundary question.”
The SR level meeting comes just after India and China held official-level talks in New Delhi, following troop disengagement at the two disputed points along the LAC in the eastern Ladakh region.
Special Representatives Talks: What is it?
The Special Representatives talks between the two nations are a critical mechanism for discussion and resolution of issues related to the Indo-China boundary question. The main focus of the talks since their inception in 2003 is to maintain peace and stability along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), promote confidence-building measures, and explore new ways to resolve the boundary dispute and bilateral relations.
Special Representatives talks proved to be very instrumental for both countries, as in reducing tensions and improving the direct flow of communications without any confusion on the stands of both, along the border, and in maintaining peaceful bilateral relations.
Expectations from the meet:
- Boundary Question: The Indo-China border has been a tug of war between the two nations since the 1950s. The two counterparts will be focusing on taking a step further to resolve the issue and finding a fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable solution to the dispute.
- Peace and Tranquillity: – To maintain peace and stability along the LAC region is the next big step that will be at the forefront of the meeting.
- Confidence-Building Measures: Confidence building for the future will also be ensured by enhancing the exchanges and communication between border personnel and promoting mutual trust.
- Bilateral Relations: After these things, the next big step comes in the form of bilateral relations between the two nations; both countries want to improve their relations. AMID the growing concerns from the US after Donald Trump’s victory in recent presidential elections and his trade policies being anti-India and anti-China. So, both will be focusing on strengthening relations and promoting cooperation in various fields.
The meeting can become a cornerstone for both the countries if the focus points discussed are well implemented. India and China both want to improve their deteriorating relations, and the SR meeting can pave the path for the cause. Further escalations are being awaited.
