NEW DELHI: Following two meetings in July between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, officials of the two sides met in New Delhi today to find an early resolution of the military stand-off along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
At the 30th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC), the Indian delegation was led by Gourangalal Das, Joint Secretary (East Asia), MEA. The Chinese team was headed by Hong Liang, Director General of the Boundary and Oceanic Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The meeting was aimed at taking forward the discussions held between the two ministers in Astana (Kazakhstan) and Vientiane (Laos). “The two sides reviewed the situation along the LAC for finding an early resolution of the outstanding issues,” the MEA said in a statement.
The statement echoed what Jaishankar had told Wang: “Restoration of peace and tranquillity, and respect for the LAC, are an essential basis for bringing back normalcy in bilateral relations.” The two sides agreed on the “need to jointly uphold peace and tranquillity on the ground in accordance with relevant bilateral agreements, protocols and understandings”. They agreed to continue talks through diplomatic and military channels, the MEA said.