New Delhi, Nov 18 (UNI): India and China on Thursday agreed on the need to find an early resolution to the remaining issues along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh and to hold the next round of the Senior Commanders meeting at an early date.
During the 23rd meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) held via video link on Thursday, the two sides recalled the agreement between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, during their meeting in September in Dushanbe on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
As per the agreement, the military and diplomatic officials of the two sides should continue their discussions to resolve the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh.
“Accordingly, the two sides had candid and in-depth discussions on the situation along the LAC in Western Sector of India-China Border Areas and also reviewed the developments since the last meeting of the Senior Commanders of both sides which was held on October 10, 2021.
“In this regard they agreed on the need to find an early resolution to the remaining issues along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh while fully abiding by bilateral agreements and protocols so as to restore peace and tranquility. The two sides also agreed that both sides should in the interim also continue to ensure a stable ground situation and avoid any untoward incident,” said an official statement.
The Indian delegation was led by Naveen Srivastava, Additional Secretary (East Asia) from the Ministry of External Affairs. The Chinese side was led by Hong Liang, Director General of the Boundary and Oceanic Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Representatives from departments related to diplomacy, national defence and immigration of both countries attended the meeting.
“It was agreed that both sides should hold the next (14th) round of the Senior Commanders meeting at an early date to achieve the objective of complete disengagement from all the friction points along the LAC in the Western Sector in accordance with the existing bilateral agreements and protocols,” the MEA statement said.
