India, China Review LAC Situation in Diplomatic Talks: MEA

New Delhi, Aug 7: India and China reviewed the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and held detailed discussions on boundary delimitation, border management and trans-border cooperation during diplomatic talks in New Delhi, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday.

The talks were held a day earlier under the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC), with both sides stressing the importance of maintaining peace and tranquillity in border areas for the overall development of bilateral relations.

“The two sides engaged in frank discussions and reviewed the situation along the LAC,” the MEA said in a statement.

Both countries agreed to continue using existing diplomatic and military channels, including the WMCC, local commander-level meetings and other established mechanisms, to address outstanding issues and prevent misunderstanding and miscalculation along the LAC.

The discussions followed up on outcomes of the latest Special Representatives talks and covered boundary delimitation, border management, mechanism-building and trans-border cooperation.

India also called for the early convening of the next meeting of the expert-level mechanism on trans-border rivers and stressed the need for sharing technical details concerning upstream projects, the MEA said.

The Indian delegation was led by Sujit Ghosh, Joint Secretary (East Asia) in the MEA, while the Chinese delegation was headed by Hou Yanqi, Director General of the Boundary and Oceanic Affairs Department in China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The two sides reiterated their commitment to established dialogue mechanisms as part of efforts to manage outstanding border-related issues and maintain stability along the LAC. (Agencies)