Post Donglang, New Delhi to host key China-India border talks

World
Europe

China has urged India to uphold the tranquility and peace in the border while affirming that the 73-day Donglang standoff this summer posed a ”major test” on bilateral relations as the two Asian neighbors prepare for crucial talks on the boundary issue in New Delhi this week.

"We should follow our historical conventions on the border to uphold the tranquility and peace in the border region," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying was quoted as saying by Press Trust of India news agency on Tuesday.

"In 2017, China-India relations have maintained a good momentum generally, but the Donglang incident posed a major test for the two countries. We should learn lessons from this incident to avoid any further conflict of this kind in the future," she added.

China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying at a press conference in Beijing, China, on December 19, 2017. /Photo via Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Chinese foreign ministry’s statement came as New Delhi prepares to host the 20th round of border talks between special representatives of the two countries on December 22.

"At the invitation of National Security Adviser Ajit Doval of India, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and State Councilor Yang Jiechi will travel to India to attend the Special Representatives' Meeting on the China-India Boundary Questions on December 22," Hua confirmed on Wednesday.

The border talks will be the first since the Donglang standoff ended on August 28, and will be led by Jiechi and Doval. "During the meeting, the two sides will exchange views on China-India relations and the major international and regional issues of common concern,” Hua told reporters at a press conference earlier on Tuesday.

Yang and Doval last met in Beijing in July – at the height of the Donglang standoff – on the sidelines of the seventh meeting of BRICS senior representatives. After that meeting, the Chinese foreign ministry said Yang "elaborated China's position on bilateral issues and major problems," in a subtle reference to the standoff.

The July meeting was seen as the first step towards the eventual resolution of the border standoff in time for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the September 3-5 BRICS summit in Xiamen in China’s southeastern Fujian Province.

A three-step mechanism

Chinese and Indian officials at the 10th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on China-India Border Affairs, which was held in Beijing, China, on November 16-17, 2017. /Photo via Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The mechanism of special representatives’ talks was created during India’s former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s China visit in 2003. It was a significant elevation from the previous official-level joint working group meetings.

The mechanism envisioned a three-step process for resolving border issues. New Delhi and Beijing reached an agreement on guiding principles and setting political parameters for a settlement in 2005. Currently, the countries are negotiating the second phase of working out a settlement framework, which will be followed by the final step of drawing a border line based on the framework agreement.

“The Special Representatives' Meeting is not only a high-level channel for the two countries to hold talks on boundary questions but also an important platform for them to conduct strategic communication. It is held regularly every year by the two countries in turn," Hua said.

The Asian neighbors have so far held 19 rounds of special representatives’ talks in 14 years, the last of which was held in Beijing in April 2016, also led by the duo of Yang and Doval.

At that meeting, both sides agreed to pursue a “positive attitude of mutual respect and understanding and on the basis of existing results from negotiations, stay on the track of political settlement, stick to peaceful negotiations to resolve the boundary question, meet each other halfway, and continue to promote the process of framework negotiation, so as to strive for a fair and reasonable solution that both sides accept,” according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement.

This week’s talks in New Delhi will resume the dialogue from the 10th round of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC), initiated in 2012 to maintain peace along the disputed border, held in Beijing in November.

'Partners in the Asian century'

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (left) during his meeting with Indian Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi, India, on December 11, 2017. /Photo via Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The 20th special representatives' meeting also comes just days after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited India earlier this month as part of the trilateral Russia-India-China (RIC) meeting. On the sidelines of the event, Wang held talks with his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj and also met with Indian President Ram Nath Kovind.

Ahead of the meeting, the Chinese military protested the violation of its airspace by an Indian drone, which reportedly crash-landed.

During his talks with Swaraj, Wang had raised the Donglang incident and said that “lessons should be learned to prevent similar incidents from happening again,” according to a statement from China’s foreign ministry.

“As two great ancient civilizations and emerging market economies, China and India both shoulder the historical mission of development and rejuvenation. Sharing the same or similar views on the world trends and international affairs, the two countries should become natural partners for cooperation,” the statement said quoting Wang, who stressed that China-India relations are at a critical period.

“Leaders of both countries once pointed out that China and India should see each other as an opportunity rather than challenge, and a partner rather than opponent,” Wang added.

Swaraj expressed that India has always attached high importance to its relations with China and regarded India-China relations as an important part of the country’s foreign policy.

“Against the current backdrop of the complicated and ever-changing world situation, India-China relations have maintained overall stable development though confronted by some challenges. The settlement of the Donglang incident through diplomatic measures fully embodies the two countries’ political wisdom,” she said

“The Indian side has always believed that India and China share far more similarities than differences. Both countries should strengthen strategic communication, enhance strategic mutual trust, prevent differences from evolving into disputes and avoid disputes deteriorating into conflicts… Only when India and China work hand in hand can the Asian century truly arrive,” she proclaimed.

[Top photo: China’s State Councilor Yang Jiechi (left) and India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval shake hands during a photo opportunity before their meeting in New Delhi, India, on March 23, 2015. /Reuters Photo]

3786km