China wants to restart boundary talks, India insists on completely ending LAC stand-off first

Wang said that both countries were friends and partners but they should shed suspicion at each other

China on Sunday suggested return to the table of negotiation to settle its boundary dispute with India, although the two nations could not yet completely resolve the 11-month-long military stand-off along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.

“The truths of the border clashes last year are clear. What happened (along the LAC over the past few months) again proves that initiating confrontation will not solve the problem, and that returning to peaceful negotiation is the right way forward,” Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, said. He subtly reiterated Beijing’s allegation that the Indian Army personnel had been responsible not only for the violent clash between the soldiers of the two nations in Galwan Valley on June 15, 2020, but also for the stand-off with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) all along the LAC.

China and India need to help each other succeed, instead of undercutting each other, and they should strengthen cooperation instead of harbouring suspicion at each other, Wang said while addressing a news conference in Beijing. “China and India are each other's friends and partners, not threats or rivals."

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His suggestion for restarting negotiation to settle the disputed boundary between the two nations came just two days after India made it clear to China that completing the mutual withdrawal of troops from the remaining “points of friction” along the LAC was a pre-requisite to set the stage for progress in bilateral relations.

Wang said that China remained committed to resolving its boundary disputes with India “through dialogue”, but was also firmly determined to safeguard its sovereignty and interests.

The Indian Army and the Chinese PLA last month withdrew frontline troops from the northern and the southern banks of Pangong Tso in eastern Ladakh. The mutual disengagement from both banks of the lake raised hope for an early end to the military stand-off, which had started in late April and early May in 2020 and had taken the bilateral relations to a new low over the past 11 months. The senior military commanders of the two sides started a discussion for withdrawal of troops from other face-off points along the LAC, like Hot Springs, Depsang and Gogra Post, but could not yet work out a mutually acceptable plan.

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His suggestion for restarting negotiation to settle the disputed boundary between the two nations came just two days after India made it clear to China that completing mutual withdrawal of troops from the remaining “points of friction” along the LAC was a prerequisite to set the stage for progress in bilateral relations.

Wang said that China remained committed to resolving its boundary disputes with India “through dialogue”, but was also firmly determined to safeguard its sovereignty and interests.

The Indian Army and the Chinese PLA last month withdrew front-line troops from the northern and the southern banks of Pangong Tso in eastern Ladakh. The mutual disengagement from both banks of the lake raised hope for an early end to the military stand-off, which had started in late April and early May in 2020 and had taken the bilateral relations to a new low over the past 11 months. The senior military commanders of the two sides started discussion for withdrawal of troops from other face-off points along the LAC, like Hot Springs, Depsang and Gogra Post, but could not yet work out a mutually acceptable plan.

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Wang on February 25 last spoke to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar over the phone. They reviewed the situation along the LAC. Jaishankar told the Chinese Foreign Minister that the dispute over the India-China boundary might take time to resolve, but disturbance of peace and tranquillity in border areas would have “a damaging impact” on the relationship between the two neighbouring nations.

New Delhi’s envoy to Beijing, Vikram Misri, too recently met China’s Vice Foreign Minister, Luo Zhaohui in Beijing and stressed that “maintaining peace and tranquillity in border areas had always been the basis for development of bilateral relations”.

Wang, however, said on Sunday that China’s boundary dispute with India was a left-over from history, but not the whole story of the relations between the two neighbouring nations. He said that both sides should “properly manage differences” and “strengthen cooperation to create favourable conditions for the settlement of the boundary issue”.