China, India conduct talks to ease Himalayan border tensions

China and India engaged in fresh discussions to address tensions in disputed border regions in the Himalayas.

According to a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the 29th meeting of the China-India Border Issues Consultation and Coordination Mechanism, which aims to resolve border disputes, was held in Beijing, the capital.

The statement indicated that officials from the foreign, defense, immigration, and other ministries of both countries attended the meeting, where they reached an agreement to "expeditiously prepare a plan to ensure the situation on the border enters a phase of normalcy and control, which both sides will accept."

A statement by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs noted that discussions were held regarding the resolution of remaining issues in the western sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and the completion of mutual disengagement.

Both countries emphasized in their statements the importance of maintaining regular communication through diplomatic and military channels to uphold peace and tranquility in the border region.

China-India border dispute

The undefined border line surrounded by the Himalayas has sparked sovereignty disputes between China and India. The 3,500-kilometer (2174.8-mile) border, which includes rivers, lakes, glaciers, and snowy peaks, frequently brings the two sides into confrontation.

While Beijing claims sovereignty over 90,000 square kilometers of territory in India's Arunachal Pradesh state, which it refers to as "Southern Tibet," New Delhi contends that China occupies 38,000 square kilometers of the Aksai Chin plateau.

Despite years of effort, the two sides have been unable to resolve the border conflict that led to a war between the two countries in 1962, with occasional escalations in tension along the border.

In the Galwan Valley in the Ladakh region on June 15, 2020, clashes between Indian and Chinese soldiers resulted in the death of 20 Indian soldiers and reportedly four Chinese soldiers. The tensions along the border have heightened with rhetoric of "war" from the public of the two countries, which possess some of the world's largest militaries.

Source: Newsroom