India-China WMCC meeting held on LAC faceoff; 7th round of talks soon

India-China Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) meeting was held on Wednesday to discuss border standoff in eastern Ladakh. meeting was held virtually between diplomats of two countries. Joint Secretary MEA Mr. Naveen Srivastava represented India in meeting while China was represented by Director-General of Boundary and Oceanic Department of Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. main aim of meeting was to decide nda of 7th corps commanders' meet, whose date is yet to be decided. This was 19th WMCC meet since mechanism came up in 2012, and 5th such meet after Galwan clash sparked tension at LAC.

virtual talks attempted to de-escalate tensions with diplomatic involvements and to implement five-point agreement reached between ir foreign ministers in Moscow on September 10. In Bejing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing that China and India are holding 19th meeting of WMCC on China-India Border Affairs. main topics discussed are how to implement five-point consensus reached in Moscow by two foreign ministers to resolve outstanding issues on ground and to ease situation along border, he said.

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External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi had held a bilateral meeting on sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation(SCO) meet in backdrop of a deteriorating situation in eastern Ladakh triggered by a fresh confrontation between armies of two countries.

At meeting, two sides reached a five-point agreement that included measures like quick disengment of troops, avoiding action that could escalate tensions, adherence to all agreements and protocols on border manment and steps to restore peace along Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Ahead of WMCC India had strongly reacted to China's perception of LAC, de-facto Si-India border spanning a length of nearly 3,500 km. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson recently insisted that China abides by LAC as proposed by n Premier Zhou Enlai to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in a letter dated vember 7, 1959.

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In a sharp reaction, India on Tuesday categorically rejected China's "so-called unilaterally defined" LAC of 1959 and asked neighbouring country to refrain from advancing an "untenable" interpretation of de-facto border. Indian government also reminded China that its insistence re is only "one LAC" is contrary to solemn commitments made by Beijing in previous bilateral agreements, and expected it will "sincerely" abide by m in ir entirety.

Ministry of External affairs conveyed after WMCC was concluded on Wednesday that outcome of 6th Senior Commanders meeting on 21 September is being evaluated. y emphasized need to implement steps outlined in joint press release issued after last meeting of senior commanders so as to avoid misunderstandings and to maintain stability on ground. In this context, need to strengn communication, especially between ground commanders, was emphasized by both sides.

statement from MEA also said that both sides agreed to continue to maintain close consultations at diplomatic and military levels. In this regard, y agreed that next (7th) round of meeting of Senior Commanders should be held at an early date so that both sides can work towards early and complete peaceful disengment of troops along LAC.

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