India, China holds 19th meeting of WMCC; 5 things to know
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New Delhi, Oct 1: Amid the India-China border standoff, India and China conducted the 19th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) on Wednesday. Both the countries have agreed that the next (7th) round of the meeting of Senior Commanders should be held at an early date.
1. This is the fifth round of WMCC talks since the ongoing stand-off in the Ladakh sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) began in May 2020. The meeting was led by Naveen Srivastava, Joint Secretary (East Asia), Ministry of External Affairs, and Hong Liang, Director of the Boundary and Maritime Affairs Department in China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
2. The two sides reviewed the current situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the India-China border areas and had frank and detailed discussions on the developments since the last meeting of the WMCC on 20 August 2020, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.
3. Both of them emphasized the five-point plan between External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi that took place earlier this month, "should be sincerely implemented to ensure disengagement at all the friction points along the LAC."
4. Further, the two sides positively evaluated the outcome of the 6th Senior Commanders meeting on 21 September. They emphasized the need to implement the steps outlined in the joint press release issued after the last meeting of the senior commanders so as to avoid misunderstandings and to maintain stability on the ground. In this context, the need to strengthen communication, especially between the ground commanders, was emphasized by both sides.
5. During the meeting, both sides agreed to continue to maintain close consultations at the diplomatic and military levels. Meanwhile, they agreed that the next (7th) round of the meeting of Senior Commanders should be held at an early date so that both sides can work towards early and complete disengagement of the troops along the LAC in accordance with the existing bilateral agreement and protocols, and fully restore peace and tranquility.
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