20th round of India-China border talks in India next year.

[Hindustani78]

http://indianexpress.com/article/in...-model-for-crisis-management-in-asia-4726338/

Citing the India-China crisis-management mechanism model to address disputes, India’s former national security adviser Shivshankar Menon said today that Asian countries should collectively cooperate to combat terrorism, maritime and cyber security threats. “We should put in place the means to prevent trouble while peace prevails, building crisis management mechanisms, and confidence building measures bilaterally and among groups of countries,” Menon said while addressing the second Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Beijing.


“The example that India and China have together shown, of discussing a settlement of the boundary dispute while maintaining overall peace and tranquillity on their border shows the value of CBMs and crisis management mechanisms where disputes exist,” he said.


Besides the Special Representative-level talks to resolve the border dispute, India and China have worked out dialogue mechanisms between the two militaries on the ground for talks on contentious issues, like the current Sikkim stand-off between the two militaries.

Speaking on the subject ‘an Asian Regional Security Architecture with Asian Features’, Menon also suggested that the countries should work from the beginning to reduce the risks of conflict or accidents, building habits of cooperation among the countries of Asia.

“Terrorism is one issue on which there is much greater scope for cooperation among Asian countries. An issue like maritime security and freedom of navigation is critical for the world’s major trading nations who are now in Asia,” Menon, who was also the former foreign secretary, said.

While terrorism emanating from Pakistan has affected India and Afghanistan; the US, India and other countries highlight the need for freedom of navigation specially in the disputed South China Sea, he said.

China claims almost all of the resource-rich South China Sea and Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims. Menon also said that cyber security is the other area where the gains from cooperation would be significant.

“These three issues, counter-terrorism, maritime security and cyber security, require collective rather than national solutions, and will affect Asia’s future well-being directly,” he said. He said in view of the volatile situation in Asia, the risk of major powers being sucked into local conflicts is higher than it has been for some time.

He said there has been a steady increase in the US military involvement in Syria and American forces have returned to the fighting in Iraq. “There has also been a steady rise in other kinds of conflict and violence throughout Asia, both within societies and between them,” Menon said.

“But despite that history, for several decades, Asia has consistently displayed the flexibility and ability to find practical solutions to security problems, and has provided sufficient security to make possible the greatest improvement in human well-being ever in history,” he said.

“Now we must ensure that the rising geopolitical uncertainty and security challenges are not allowed to prevent Asia’s future march to prosperity,” he added.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/border-meeting-with-china-on-i-day/article19452625.ece

Border Personnel Meetings are held on ceremonial occasions
Even as the border standoff between India and China is close to completing two months, officials said the ceremonial border personnel meetings to mark Independence Day will go ahead between the two militaries as planned on Tuesday.

Such meetings are usually are held on ceremonial occasions, but there were doubts if it would happen this time.

“The meetings are going as scheduled,” a defence source said.

There are five meeting points at Bum La and Kibithu in Arunachal Pradesh, Daulat Beg Oldi and Chushul in Ladakh and Nathu La in Sikkim.

However, there is still no clarity on the annual bilateral military training exercise Hand-in-Hand.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india...in-nathu-la/story-1yDFajGiqN76fPcpNWpffI.html

Amid the Doklam standoff, Army personnel from India and China on Friday are understood to have held a meeting at Nathu La mountain pass in Sikkim.

The face-off between armies of the two countries at the India-Bhutan-China tri-junction in Doklam figured in the border personnel meeting (BPM), a source said.

The BPM set up was launched by both countries to sort out local issues and ensure peace and tranquility along the sensitive border.

The two sides hold BPM in five points which include Daulat Beg Oldie in northern Ladakh, Kibithoo in Arunachal Pradesh, Chusul in Ladakh, Bum-La near Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh and Nathu-La in Sikkim.

India and China have been locked in a face-off in the Doklam area of the Sikkim sector for nearly eight weeks after Indian troops stopped the Chinese Army from building a road in the area.

China claimed it was constructing the road within their territory and has been demanding immediate pull-out of the Indian troops from the disputed Doklam plateau. Bhutan says Doklam belongs to it but China claims it to be its territory.

China has been ramping up rhetoric against India over the last few weeks demanding immediate withdrawal of Indian troops from Dokalam. The Chinese state media, particularly, have carried a barrage of critical articles on the Doklam stand- off slamming India.

External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj had recently said both sides should first pull back their troops for any talks to take place, favouring a peaceful resolution of the border standoff.

India also conveyed to the Chinese government that the road construction would represent a significant change of status quo with serious security implications for it.

 

[Hindustani78]

NEW DELHI, August 14, 2017 20:51 IST
Updated: August 14, 2017 20:51 IST
http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...hina-border-meet-on-i-day/article19492913.ece

Before ceremonial BPMs that are held on national days, either side gives confirmation a couple of days in advance.
Amid the standoff at Doklam, uncertainty continues over the ceremonial Border Personnel Meeting (BPM) between the armies of India and China on the eve of Independence Day.

“As of now BPM is unsure. We have invited them; acceptance from China is yet to come,” a senior official said on Monday.

Before ceremonial BPMs that are held on national days, either side gives confirmation a couple of days in advance. However, that has not happened this time. “We will wait and see what happens tomorrow,” the source added. The five BPM points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) are at Bum La and Kibithu in Arunachal Pradesh, Daulat Beg Oldi and Chushul in Ladakh and Nathu La in Sikkim.

In addition, there is also uncertainty over the annual bilateral military exercise Hand-in-Hand to be held later this year. The joint planning conference has not taken place thus far, but it has not been formally cancelled either.

 

[wiseone2]

expect no resolution before 100th round

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/ladakh-stone-pelting-surprises-officials/article19504062.ece

On Wednesday, a day after the incident, the two sides held a flag meeting at the Border Personnel Meeting (BPM) point at Chushul in eastern Ladakh.

At least one ITBP man sustained head injuries, according to officials who briefed The Hindu about the dramatic standoff that began around 6 a.m. on Tuesday.

The stone-pelting took place when the two sides were retreating after a face-off at Finger Four and Finger Five near Pangong Lake on August 15. The standoffs lasted half-an-hour each.

The scuffle at Finger Four took place at 6 a.m., and the one at Finger Five at 7.30 a.m. The two sides took positions and the situation was defused by 9 a.m., officials said.

A top government source said the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh has been deteriorating since April.

There have been occasional scuffles and jostling among the troops in recent weeks, and on a few occasions there have been fisticuffs. “Incidents and issues to ensure strengthening of the existing mechanism for maintaining peace and tranquillity were discussed,” one Army source said.

One-third of the lake is controlled by India and two-thirds by China though each side has claims over the remaining part.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/china-wants-to-go-back-to-1959-lac/article19535513.ece

Accuses India of ‘violent actions’
China on Monday urged India to abide by the Line of Actual Control (LAC) position of 1959, following last week’s scuffle between troops of the two countries along the Pangong lake in Ladakh.

To a question, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying accused Indian troops of undertaking “violent actions” and injuring Chinese personnel.

The Ministry urged India to abide by the “1959 LAC” — an apparent reference to the alignment espoused by former Chinese Premier Zhou en Lai in a letter to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. In his 2016 book, Choices: Inside the Making of India’s Foreign Policy, former National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon points out that in the proposal of November 1959, the Chinese describe the LAC “only in general terms on maps not to scale”. India rejected the proposal in 1959 and 1962.

Zhou en Lai then wrote to Nehru that in the eastern sector, the line “coincides in the main with the so-called McMahon Line, and in the western and middle sectors, it coincides in the main with the traditional customary line which has consistently been pointed out by China”.

Ms. Hua said the incident at Pangong lake had “violated the consensus” on border issues. She said China had expressed “grave dissatisfaction” and lodged its serious concern with India.

 

[Hindustani78]

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with the Defence Secretary, Sanjay Mitra & Army Officers, at Forward post of Kibithu, Arunachal Pradesh on Sunday. | Photo Credit: PTI

http://www.thehindu.com/news/intern...hal-pradesh/article19991992.ece?homepage=true

Beijing, November 06, 2017 14:42 IST
Updated: November 06, 2017 21:33 IST

“This visit by the Indian side to the disputed area is not conducive to the peace and tranquillity of the relevant region,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying.
China on Monday objected to Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s first visit to Arunachal Pradesh, saying her tour of the “disputed area” is not conducive to the peace and tranquillity of the region.

Ms. Sitharaman on Sunday visited forward Army posts in Arunachal Pradesh's remote Anjaw district that borders China to take stock of defence preparedness.

“As to Indian Defence Minister's visit to Arunachal Pradesh, you must be very clear about China’s position,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a media briefing.

“There is a dispute on the eastern section of the China-India boundary. So this visit by the Indian side to the disputed area is not conducive to the peace and tranquillity of the relevant region,” Ms Hua said.

The Indian side should work with the Chinese side for proper resolution of the issue through dialogue and create an enabling environment and conditions, she said.

“Hope India will work with China for the shared goal, seek a solution acceptable to both sides and accommodate our concerns in a balanced way,” she said.

China claims Arunachal Pradesh to be a part of south Tibet and routinely objects to top Indian officials’ visit to the area.

The Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China stretches to 3,488 km. As many as 19 rounds of talks have been held by Special Representatives to resolve the dispute.

Last month, Ms. Sitharaman visited Nathu La area on the India-China border in Sikkim and greeted the People’s Liberation Army soldiers across the border.

 

[Hindustani78]

NEW DELHI, November 09, 2017 22:32 IST
Updated: November 09, 2017 22:32 IST

http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...-next-month/article20054835.ece?homepage=true

Talks come after the 73-day stand-off at Doklam

India and China will hold the 20th round of border talks at December-end, the first since the 73-day stand-off at Doklam.

“Starting next month, the bilateral exchanges will begin. The first one is of our Foreign Minister Wang Yi who will attend the India-China-Russia Foreign Ministers’ meeting here… Then our State Counsellor Yang Jiechi will come to attend the 20th round of border talks… So these two very important visits... will start a new chapter in bilateral relations,” said Li Bijian, Minister Counsellor at the Chinese Embassy here, said on Thursday. He was speaking on the sidelines of a seminar organised by the Observer Research Foundation.

Mr. Li said that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Xiamen after the Doklam incident in September, they agreed to take forward the ties, and these visits were part of the initiative.

The two Armies were locked in a stand-off at Doklam on June 16 after Indian soldiers prevented the Chinese from building a road in a disputed territory near the India-Bhutan-China tri-junction.

After tough negotiations, the two sides agreed to disengagement on August 28.

 

[Hindustani78]

NEW DELHI, November 09, 2017 22:32 IST
Updated: November 10, 2017 12:27 IST

http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...-next-month/article20054835.ece?homepage=true

Talks come after the 73-day stand-off at Doklam

India and China will hold the 20th round of border talks in the end of December, the first since the 73 day standoff at Doklam.

“Starting next month the bilateral exchanges will begin. The first one is of our foreign minister Wang Yi who will attend the India-China-Russia foreign ministers meeting here… Then our State Counsellor Yang Jiechi he will come to attend the 20th round of border talks… So these two very important visits by the two leaders will start a new chapter for our bilateral relations,” said Li Bijian, Minister Counsellor in the Chinese Embassy. He was speaking on the sidelines of a seminar organised by the Observer Research Foundation on Thursday.

Mr. Yang has been made a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party and will become the Chinese Vice-Premier in charge of foreign policy next year.

Mr. Li said that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Xiamen after the Doklam incident in September they reached a consensus to take forward bilateral relations and these visits were part of the initiative.

The last round of boundary talks between the two Special Representatives, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Mr. Yang were held in China in April last year.

The two armies got into a standoff at Doklam on June 16 after Indian soldiers prevented Chinese from building a road in disputed territory near the India-Bhutan-China tri-junction and after tough diplomatic negotiations announced disengagement on August 28. In this backdrop, there are wide spread apprehensions on the future course of the border talks.

Speaking on the just concluded 19th Chinese Communist Party Congress, Mr. Li said it was an opportunity for India.

“In the next 30 years the main task of the Chinese Government is development. In the last five years of Mr. Xi’s rule 60 million people have been brought out of poverty. But we still have 40 million below poverty. India also has a similar task. We can share our experiences in development,” he said.

He added that a strong and developing China gives opportunities in trade, investment and consumption.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.hindustantimes.com/world...-the-border/story-Mwh0t98xYRQv13QaJjKdTJ.html

The meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs marked the first talks on the border issue since the end of the Doklam standoff.
world Updated: Nov 17, 2017 17:18 IST

Sutirtho Patranobis

File photograph taken on October 21, 2012 shows an Indian soldier keeping watch at Bumla Pass on the India-China border in Arunachal Pradesh. (AFP)

Maintaining peace along the border and increasing military-to-military contacts were in focus when top officials from India and China met in Beijing for a round of official talks on the frontier for the first time since the resolution of the Doklam standoff.

It was the 10th round of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC), a mechanism initiated in 2012 to maintain peace along the disputed border.

Details of Friday’s meeting were not immediately available but it is believed both sides took stock of the situation along the border, especially in the aftermath of the standoff at Doklam or Donglang near the Sikkim border, where troops from the two countries were locked in an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation for more than 70 days.

“The talks were held in a constructive and forward-looking manner. Both sides reviewed the situation in all sectors of India-China border and agreed that maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the border areas is an important prerequisite for sustained growth of bilateral relations,” said a statement issued by the Indian embassy on Friday evening.

“In this regard, the two sides also exchanged views on further confidence-building measures and strengthening of military-to-military contacts,” it added.

The Indian delegation, comprising diplomats and military officials, was led by Pranay Verma, joint secretary (East Asia), and the Chinese delegation was led by Xiao Qian, director general, department of Asian affairs in the foreign ministry.

The WMCC is different from the talks between the Special Representatives on the border issue, which is the most important mechanism to resolve the dispute. The WMCC specifically focusses on maintaining peace and tranquillity till a final resolution.

The body will “undertake other tasks that are mutually agreed upon by the two sides, but will not discuss resolution of the Boundary Question or affect the Special Representatives Mechanism”, according to the agreement on the WMCC.

The body is meant to “study ways and means to conduct and strengthen exchanges and cooperation between military personnel and establishments of the two sides in the border areas”.

 

[Hindustani78]

//economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/62110349.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

New Delhi : India is not giving into Chinese attempts to delink the Doklam plateau from the special representative (SR) mechanism, insisting that the two sides discuss the area along with other boundary disputes at the SR talks this week in New Delhi. Doklam was the scene of a 75-day-long military face off between the two countries that pushed bilateral ties to a new low.

The crisis ended on August 28, a month after National Security Advisor Ajit Kumar Doval, who is also the special representative for talks with China, met Chinese state councilor and special representative Yang Jiechi on the sidelines of a BRICS NSA meeting in Beijing.

Doval is now expected to host Yang for the 20th round of the annual boundary negotiations here on December 20-21. This is going to be the first meeting between the two special representatives since the Doklam face off.

Delhi and Beijing, however, are still not on the same page on whether the mandate of the special representatives includes negotiation over the dispute in the Sikkim sector of the Line of Actual Control (4,057-kmlong), which covers the Doklam trijunction with Bhutan ..

Beijing has refused to budge from its position that the Doklam plateau is out of the purview of the special representatives. It has been arguing that since the boundary between the two neighbours at the Sikkim sector has already been delimited by the 1890 convention between the UK and China, the bilateral mechanism led by the special representatives has no scope to discuss the area.

But Delhi doesn't agree. It argues that while the status of Sikkim as an integral part of India has been settled, the India-China boundary in the Sikkim sector remains unsettled and hence amatter of negotiation between the special representatives.

Yang, according to people familiar with process, may urge Doval to start negotiations for an "early-harvest agreement" tosettle the bilateral dispute over the Sikkim sector. Delhi has so far been cautious about the proposal and maintained that it will rather prefer a comprehensive settlement over the entire India-China boundary than resolving it in a piecemeal manner.

Doval is expected to present Yang a proposal mooted by Delhi for setting up a trilateral arrangement involving India, China and Bhutan in order to settle the dispute over the trijunction boundary point, informed one of the people quoted above.

Besides Bhutan, India and China share trijunction boundary points with Myanmar and Nepal - at Diphu Pass and Lipulekh Pass respectively. Delhi and Beijing had in 2012 agreed that the trijunction boundary points among India, China and third countries will be finalised in consultation with the third countries following settlement of the LAC.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/na...talks-on-dgmo-level-hotline-issue/514931.html

Posted at: Dec 18, 2017, 1:47 AM; last updated: Dec 18, 2017, 1:47 AM (IST)
India, China revive talks on DGMO-level hotline issue


Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, December 17

India and China have revived their long-pending issue of setting up a telephonic hotline at the level of Director-General Military Operations (DGMO).

The matter was revived at a meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs in Beijing last month. The two sides are now coordinating on how to have a Mandarin-to-English translator in India and the reverse of it in China. The telephonic talk between the two senior officers may be done like a conference call with translators listening in to transcribe, on either side.

This is being done in the backdrop of the 20th round of special representatives (SR) talks on boundary resolution in New Delhi on December 21-22. National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval and his counterpart, state councillor Yang Jiechi, will discuss the entire gamut of bilateral relations, including the situation along the 3,488-km Line of Actual Control (LAC). This is the first SR-level meeting since the 73-day military standoff at Doklam.

Since the two are responsible for boundary resolution, they are expected to discuss measures to maintain peace and tranquillity along the LAC.

The issue of the DGMO-level hotline was discussed at a higher level in April 2016 during the visit of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to China. A draft agreement was exchanged, but there were hurdles of language and also for China to identify an officer at the rank of the DGMO-a three-star lieutenant general.

At present, India and China have five border personnel meeting points along the Himalayas, where formation commanders on either side discuss local irksome issues. A DGMO-level hotline will be for overall talks when matters heat up.

 

[Hindustani78]

NEW DELHI, December 21, 2017 22:31 IST
Updated: December 22, 2017 01:13 IST

http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...-china-border-talks-today/article22178787.ece

India and China will hold the 20th round of negotiations on the border issues on Friday. The meeting, which comes four months after the forces of the two sides confronted each other at the Doklam plateau, will be headed by special representatives from both sides, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi.

The Ministry of External Affairs made a formal announcement for the talks on Thursday which were finalised during last week’s bilateral meeting between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, held on the sidelines of the trilateral RIC (Russia-India-China) foreign ministers’ meeting. Ms Swaraj and Mr Wang had both indicated that the two sides realise the need to continue normal dialogue given the importance of overall relationship.

The MEA did not comment on what would be on the agenda of the Doval-Yang dialogue even though there have been some discussion in the Indian policy studies circles about the various issues like the One Belt One Road initiative, China’s opposition to Indian membership at the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and the Indian opposition to China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that might feature in the talks.

The Hindu earlier reported that Chinese ambassador Luo Zhaohui had indicated China will be willing to change the name of CPEC to address India’s concerns regarding CPEC. “We can change name of CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Corridor). Create an alternate corridor through Jammu and Kashmir, Nathu La pass or Nepal to deal with India’s concerns,” the envoy had said in November in an academic meeting.

However, a new issue on the ground that may also feature is the issue of the pollution of the Siang river which has contaminated the flow of the mighty Brahmaputra in Assam. Though India has raised the issue most recently during last week’s discussion with visiting foreign minister Wang Yi, the Chinese foreign ministry’s spokesperson has dismissed the report.

“On the issue of Siang, now this is naturally a matter of concern to us. We are coordinating with the Ministry of Water Resources and we have ascertained certain facts. I can also share with you that the matter did come up during External Affairs Minister’s meeting with the Chinese Foreign Minister and again as you are aware there are existing mechanisms between the two countries to deal with such matters on the river arrangement,” said the spokesperson last week.

***********
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world...t-all-began/story-ncZh1mxT2vRjwRRD4l2PMI.html

Dozens of rounds of talks on the border have preceded the one that Indian and Chinese diplomats will hold in New Delhi on Friday under the special representatives (SR) mechanism.

Possibly the first formal discussion on the boundary was held between Chinese premier Zhou Enlai and India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru over a week in April, 1960, in New Delhi.

Late on the night of April 25, Zhou held a press conference in New Delhi after capping nearly a week of discussions with Nehru on the boundary question.

The talks had failed to resolve differences. The conclusion instead was that India and China should start negotiating on the border and clarify their respective positions with evidence and historical documents.

Several Indian and foreign journalists were present at the unusually late night press conference that lasted from 10:45 pm to 1 am.

Zhou took several questions on the boundary dispute, which had emerged as a key point in the increasingly tense ties between the two neighbours.

Earlier in the day, a joint communique had been released on the discussions between Nehru and Zhou.

“The two PMs explained fully their respective stands on the problems affecting the border areas. This led to a greater understanding of the views of the two governments, but the talks did not result in resolving the differences that had arisen,” the communique said.

“The two PMs, therefore, agreed that officials of the two governments should meet and examine, check and study all historical documents, records, accounts, maps and other material relevant to the boundary question, which each side relied upon in support of its stand, and draw up a report for submission to the two governments,” it added.

Two more rounds of discussions were held in 1960, one in Beijing and one more in then Rangoon in present-day Myanmar.

The discussions produced voluminous reports which experts from both countries were poring over when in late in 1962, war broke out, stalling any opportunity for formal talks on the border for nearly two decades.

When Zhou flew out of New Delhi on April 26, 1960, he was the last senior Chinese official to do so – till 1981.

Hopes for formal talks were rekindled when Chinese foreign minister Huang Hua visited New Delhi in June, 1981 and met then prime minister Indira Gandhi.

The first round took place in Beijing in December.

“The two sides expressed common aspirations for the settlement of the Chinese-Indian border problem and the development of relations between the two countries and reached identical views on procedural matters,'' official news agency Xinhua said in a report on the talks.

Seven more rounds of talks were held between 1981and 1987.

The border negotiations got a boost after then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi’s visit to China in 1988.

Following his visit, talks resumed under the newly formed joint working group (JWG) mechanism.

As many as 15 rounds of negotiations were held under the JWG mechanism between 1988 and 2003.

The talks were rebooted to the current special representative (SR) mechanism in 2003 after prime minister AB Vajpayee’s China visit.

 

[Hindustani78]

Prime Minister's Office
22-December, 2017 18:43 IST
Mr. Yang Jiechi, State Councillor of the People’s Republic of China, calls on PM

Mr. Yang Jiechi, State Councillor of the People's Republic of China and Special Representative of China on the Boundary Question, called on Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today.

Mr. Yang Jiechi conveyed the greetings of President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang to the Prime Minister.

Mr. Yang Jiechi and Mr. Ajit Doval briefed the Prime Minister on the 20th round of Talks between Special Representatives of China and India on the Boundary Question, held earlier in the day.

The Prime Minister fondly recalled his visit to Xiamen for the 9th BRICS Summit in September 2017, and his meeting with President Xi Jinping there. The Prime Minister said that a strong India-China relationship is important not only for the mutual benefit of the people of India and China, but also for the region and the world.

*****

The State Councillor of the People’s Republic of China, Mr. Yang Jiechi calling on the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, in New Delhi on December 22, 2017.

The State Councillor of the People’s Republic of China, Mr. Yang Jiechi calling on the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, in New Delhi on December 22, 2017.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/intern...gn-ministry/article22254565.ece?homepage=true
Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that the SR talks were an important platform for “strategic communication” between the two neighbours.

The Chinese foreign ministry on Wednesday said that talks between China’s state councilor Yang Jeichi and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval covered extensive ground and were not confined to discussions on the borders alone.

Foreign ministry spokesperson, Hua Chunying said that the 20th round of talks between the two Special Representatives (SR) reflected the directions given by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Xiamen summit of the BRICS countries in September.

She said that the SR talks were an important platform for “strategic communication” between the two neighbours.

“Member of the Central Committee and Yang Jiechi just held the special representative meeting with the Indian side. This mechanism is not only a high level channel of dialogue on the border affairs between the two sides but also an important platform for strategic communication between China and India,” the spokesperson observed.

She added: “We know that President Xi and (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi met this year in Xiamen and reached an important consensus. So the special representatives meeting this time would follow the consensus of the state leaders to exchange our views on the issue mutual concern focus on cooperation across the board so as to achieve our win-win cooperation and mutual benefits.

Ms. Hua signalled that additional mechanisms for maintaining calm at the borders were not required as the existing channels of communication were “operating very well”. “We hope the Indian side will work with China to make the most of the current mechanism to uphold security and peace as well as tranquility in the border area so that we can create enabling conditions for the bilateral relations.”

Mr. Yang’s visit acquires additional significance as his stature has risen in China’s official hierarchy following the recent 19th Party Congress. Unlike foreign minister Wang Yi, who continues his presence in the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Mr. Yang has been elevated to the 25-member Politburo.

Highly placed sources said that Mr. Yang’s visit had been “shaped” by the recent visit to India by foreign minister Wang, which did not go into specifics, but unveiled the “broad trajectory” that the relationship between the two countries could acquire in the future.

But Mr. Yang’s visit was meant to generate more specific ideas to “give new direction to the relationship,” in view of China acquiring a higher profile in South Asia and the Indian Ocean, and India’s inclination to more deeply engage with countries in the Indo-Pacific.

Earlier an official source had told The Hindu that the dialogue in Xiamen summit had proposed urgency for a new hands-on mechanism that would supplement the already existing, but periodically held, “strategic dialogue” between the two countries. The new channel of regular communication was expected to address concerns of an aspirational India and rising China in the region, including the Indian Ocean and the Asia-Pacific.

********

http://indianexpress.com/article/in...ndia-china-discuss-cbms-after-doklam-4994962/

At boundary talks, India, China discuss CBMs after Doklam

During Yang’s meeting with Modi, he conveyed the greetings of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang and briefed him on the talks.

Written by Shubhajit Roy | New Delhi | Updated: December 22, 2017 9:57 pm

National Security Adviser and the Special Representative of India and Yang Jiechi, State Councillor and Member of Politburo of the Communist Party of China’s Central Committee. (Source: Twitter/MEA)

Striking a positive note in tune with the Astana consensus, India and China agreed Friday to maintain “regular contact” and “build on their convergences”, while seeking mutually acceptable resolution of their differences with “due respect for each other’s sensitivities, concerns and aspirations”. This is also in line with the understanding at the BRICS summit in Xiamen, where both sides agreed to put the Doklam border crisis behind them.

This was the major takeaway from the meeting between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi, Special Representatives on the boundary question. This is the first time that a Special Representative from the Chinese side is also a member of the powerful politburo of the Communist Party of China’s Central Committee.

The two sides are learnt to have discussed several confidence-building measures, including some at the field-level, and some at higher levels. They agreed that efforts should be made to ensure that “defence and security (personnel) must maintain strong contacts and cooperation” at the borders to “ensure that (the) sort of situation which happened recently should not recur”.

Sources told The Indian Express that officials from the foreign ministries and militaries of both countries will meet periodically to resolve issues that may affect maintenance of peace along the border. The two sides will also hold sectoral commander meetings at various border points. These flow from the working mechanism in October 2013 to ensure peace and tranquillity along the border between the two countries.

Sources said that the two sides took a “forward-looking approach”, and discussions were “very constructive on where the relationship should be going and will be going”.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who met Yang, said a “strong India-China relationship is important not only for the mutual benefit of the people of India and China, but also for the region and the world”.

After the 20th round of talks between the Special Representatives — less than two weeks after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited India for the Russia-India-China trilateral meeting — the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the Special Representatives undertook a comprehensive review of earlier rounds of talks and agreed that an “early settlement of the boundary question serves the fundamental interests of both countries”.

They re-emphasised their commitment to achieving a “fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution to the India-China boundary question at an early date”, the statement said.

“The two sides agreed that pending the final resolution of the boundary question, it is necessary to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas. In this regard, the Special Representatives exchanged ideas on various confidence-building measures,” it said.

The talks were “positive” and focused on bringing out the “full potential” of the Closer Developmental Partnership between the two countries, it said. Besides the boundary question, the two Special Representatives also reviewed the development of India-China bilateral relations.

“They agreed to maintain regular contact and to advance the development of bilateral relations in all areas. They underlined the need for the two countries to build on their convergences while seeking mutually acceptable resolutions of their differences with due respect for each other’s sensitivities, concerns and aspirations. They acknowledged that as two large developing countries engaged in their national modernisation, relations between India and China transcend their bilateral dimensions and have significance for peace, stability and development of Asia and the world. Both sides also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest,” the statement said.

During Yang’s meeting with Modi, he conveyed the greetings of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang and briefed him on the talks. “The Prime Minister fondly recalled his visit to Xiamen for the 9th BRICS Summit in September 2017, and his meeting with President Xi Jinping there,” a PMO statement said. Recalling the consensus reached at the Kazakh capital Astana early June, officials said that they had both agreed that they would not let differences become disputes, and when the world was changing, the two would ensure that India-China relations were a factor of stability.

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http://www.deccanherald.com/content/649642/india-china-agree-maintain-border.html

India and China on Friday agreed to maintain peace along their disputed boundary, as the negotiators of the two nations met for the first time after the recent military face-off in Doklam Plateau in western Bhutan.


Prime Minister Narendra Modi's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi met in New Delhi and agreed that an "early settlement" of the protracted boundary dispute would serve "the fundamental interests of both countries".


Doval and Jiechi are Special Representatives of India and China for negotiations to settle the boundary dispute. The 20th round of negotiations is the first time they met after China's protracted boundary disputes with both India and Bhutan drew global attention in the wake of a long face-off between Indian Army and Chinese People's Liberation Army at Doklam Plateau from June 16 to August 28.


They re-emphasised their commitment to achieving a "fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution" to the India-China boundary question "at an early date", Raveesh Kumar, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said."They also agreed on the need to maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas till the dispute could be resolved with a final settlement."


"The talks were positive and focused on bringing out the full potential of the Closer Developmental Partnership between the two countries," the MEA said in a press release issued after the meeting.


Doval and Jiechi agreed to maintain regular contact and to advance the development of bilateral relations in all areas. They underlined the need for the two countries to build on their convergences while seeking mutually acceptable resolutions of their differences with due respect for each other's sensitivities, concerns and aspirations.


Jiechi, who is now a member of the politburo of the Communist Party of China, also called on the prime minister.

 

[Hindustani78]

Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale (L) holding talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on Friday. Tribune photo
http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/na...lks-with-chinese-foreign-minister/548988.html

He said India attached great importance to its relations with China and was willing to work with it to implement the consensus of leaders, strengthen strategic communications, take care of each other’s core concerns and create a good atmosphere for the sustained and steady development of bilateral relations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit China in June this year to take part in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit to be held at Qingdao city.

The visit of Gokhale, who reportedly held the key negotiations to resolve the 73-day standoff at Dokalam, came in the backdrop of difficult bilateral and trilateral issues being dealt with by the two countries.

The Dokalam standoff ended on August 28 after the Chinese military stopped road building close to the strategic Chicken Neck corridor in an area claimed by Bhutan.

Besides the tensions along the 3,488 km long Line of Actual Control (LAC), the two countries faced a range of issues, including India’s objection to the USD 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, China blocking efforts at the UN to list JeM chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist as well as India’s entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

The current political crisis in the Maldives also emerged as an irritant in bilateral ties.

The Maldives was plunged into a crisis when President Abdulla Yameen declared a 15-day emergency

China which has made large scale deployment around the Maldives, called for the crisis to be resolved by relevant parties internally and opposed any external intervention. Beijing also opposed to even India mediation to resolve the crisis.

Former president Nasheed, who is currently in exile in Sri Lanka, however had called for the Indian intervention to resolve the crisis. PTI

Beijing, February 24

Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale visited Beijing on Friday and held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussed a range of issues amidst continuing tensions in bilateral ties.

The visit of Gokhale, who was also the former Indian envoy to China, was announced on Saturday by the Indian Embassy here through a tweet.


“Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale is visiting China to discuss the bilateral agenda, exchange plans and visits for 2018. He met with FM Wang Yi on February 23,” the tweet said.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a statement late last night on Gokhale’s talks with Wang.

Wang said that the two sides should enhance strategic mutual trust and accelerate common development in line with the political consensus of the leaders of the two countries, according to the statement.

“We hope that the Indian side will handle sensitive issues prudently and work with China to promote the sound development of China-India relations,” Wang said, apparently referring to a host of sensitive issues between India and China, including the current political crisis in the Maldives.

China and India are both representatives of emerging markets and big developing countries, Wang said, adding that commonality cannot be replaced.

According to the press release, Gokhale said he was pleased to visit China at the very beginning of his term. Gokhale succeeded S Jaishankar as foreign secretary last month.


He said India attached great importance to its relations with China and was willing to work with it to implement the consensus of leaders, strengthen strategic communications, take care of each other’s core concerns and create a good atmosphere for the sustained and steady development of bilateral relations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit China in June this year to take part in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit to be held at Qingdao city.

The visit of Gokhale, who reportedly held the key negotiations to resolve the 73-day standoff at Dokalam, came in the backdrop of difficult bilateral and trilateral issues being dealt with by the two countries.

The Dokalam standoff ended on August 28 after the Chinese military stopped road building close to the strategic Chicken Neck corridor in an area claimed by Bhutan.

Besides the tensions along the 3,488 km long Line of Actual Control (LAC), the two countries faced a range of issues, including India’s objection to the USD 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, China blocking efforts at the UN to list JeM chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist as well as India’s entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

The current political crisis in the Maldives also emerged as an irritant in bilateral ties.

The Maldives was plunged into a crisis when President Abdulla Yameen declared a 15-day emergency on February 5 and ordered the arrest of the Chief Justice and a former head of state after the Supreme Court termed “unconstitutional” the imprisonment of nine MPs and former President Mohammed Nasheed.

China which has made large scale investments in the Maldives, called for the crisis to be resolved by relevant parties internally and opposed any external intervention. Beijing also opposed to even UN mediation to resolve the crisis.

Former president Nasheed, who is currently in exile in Sri Lanka, however had called for the Indian intervention to resolve the crisis. PTI