India and China push for peaceful border dialogue

China on Monday said that the boundary dispute with India is complicated and will take time to settle but at the same time, it expressed its readiness to hold discussions on the delimitation of the border and keep it peaceful.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in his meeting with Chinese counterpart Dong Jun in Qingdao on June 26 proposed that India and China should solve the "complex issues" under a structured roadmap comprising steps to de-escalate tensions along the frontiers and rejuvenate the existing mechanism to demarcate the borders.

Singh and Dong held bilateral talks on the sidelines of a conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the Chinese port city of Qingdao, with a focus on maintaining peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Asked for China's reaction to Singh's remarks, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said, “What I can tell you is that China and India have established the Special Representatives (SRs) mechanism on the boundary question and reached the Agreement on the Political Parameters and Guiding Principles for the Settlement of the China-India Boundary Question".

The two sides have diplomatic and military communication mechanisms at various levels, she said.

“China stands ready to maintain communication with India on issues including delimitation negotiation and border management, jointly keep the border areas peaceful and tranquil, and promote cross-border exchange and cooperation,” she said.

Questioned about the prolonged delay in resolving the border issue despite 23 rounds of the SR-level talks, Mao said, “The boundary question is complicated, and it takes time to settle it”.

“The positive side is that the two countries have already established mechanisms at various levels for thorough communication. We hope that India will work with China in the same direction, continue to stay in communication on relevant issue and jointly keep the border areas peaceful and tranquil,” she said.

The 23rd round of the meeting of the SRs, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, was held here in December last year. It was the first meeting of the SRs since frictions had emerged in the Western Sector of the India-China border areas in 2020.

The SRs in their meeting positively affirmed the implementation of the latest disengagement agreement of October 2024, resulting in patrolling and grazing in relevant areas.

In his meeting with Dong, Singh had emphasised the need to create "good neighbourly conditions" to achieve the best mutual benefits and called for "taking action on the ground" to bridge the "trust deficit" resulting from the 2020 eastern Ladakh border standoff, according to an Indian readout.

Singh also briefed Dong on the Pahalgam terror attack targeting innocent civilians, and India's Operation Sindoor to dismantle the terrorist networks in Pakistan.

The Singh-Dong meeting came amid efforts by both New Delhi and Beijing to reset their ties following an understanding last October to end the military standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.