New Delhi:At a “call-on” by Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on Tuesday evening, Prime Minister Narendra Modi “emphasised the importance of maintaining peace and tranquillity on the border”, and reiterated India’s commitment to a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable resolution of the boundary question, the PMO said.The call-on took place soon after the conclusion of the 24th round of the special representative (SR) talks on the boundary issue between National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval and Wang. who is also his country’s special representative on the boundary question with India.At the SR meeting, New Delhi said that both two nations “decided to set up an expert group to explore early harvest in boundary delimitation in the India-China border areas, a working group to advance effective border management in order to maintain peace and tranquillity in India-China border areas, creation of general level mechanisms in eastern, and middle sectors and holding an early meeting of the existing general level mechanism in the western sector”.Both sides decided to utilise the “border management mechanisms at diplomatic and military levels to carry forward the process of border management, and discuss de-escalation”. It may be noted that after military disengagement in the Ladakh sector between Indian and Chinese troops that was achieved last year, India is pressing for the military de-escalation process to move forward.In a post on social media platform X after the call-on by Wang ended, Modi said that after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping last year, “India-China relations have made steady progress guided by respect for each other’s interests and sensitivities”. He said he “looked forward to the next meeting (with President Xi) in Tianjin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit.Modi also said on X after the call-on that “stable, predictable, constructive ties between India and China will contribute significantly to regional as well as global peace and prosperity”. He said he was “glad to meet” Wang, with the Chinese foreign minister “handing over a message and invitation from President Xi to the Prime Minister for the SCO Summit” which PM Modi accepted.The PMO statement mentioned that during the call-on with PM Modi, Wang shared his positive assessment of the bilateral meeting with external affairs minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar (that took place on Monday evening) and the 24th meeting of the special representatives, which he co-chaired with NSA Doval on Tuesday.It said PM Modi welcomed the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage (by Indian nationals to the holy sites in Tibet) and also “expressed support for China’s Presidency of the SCO Summit”.The call-on itself being seen by observers as a sign that the two Asian giants have decided to further ramp up ties in the face of economic pressure and punitive tariffs by the Trump Administration in Washington. At the SR talks earlier in the day, the two sides “had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on India-China boundary question” and agreed on the “need to take a political perspective of the overall bilateral relationship while seeking a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable framework for settlement of the boundary question in accordance with the Agreement on Political Parameters and Guiding Principles for Settlement of the India-China Boundary Question signed in 2005”.At the meeting, Wang made a reference to the military flashpoint between the two sides in the Ladakh sector in 2020 and “said the setbacks that occurred in the past few years were not in the interests of people of both countries”. He said it was “heartening” to see the stability now at the borders and said the two nations have an important opportunity for improvement and growth in bilateral ties.Wang added that the two nations need to increase mutual trust through strategic communication so that they can “properly settle specific issues at the borders to advance ties in a healthy and sound manner”. He said China is “ready to build more consensus”.In his opening remarks, Doval noted the “upward” trend in bilateral ties in the past nine months — since the meeting in the Russian city of Kazan in October last year between Modi and Xi and spoke about the fact that the “borders have been quiet” with “peace and tranquility”.Pointing out that the bilateral engagements have been more substantial since then, the NSA expressed gratitude to the two leaders who “set a new trend” in ties. He said the two nations had marked the 75th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic ties and said it was a “time to celebrate” this. He also spoke about the maturity of the diplomatic teams of both nations and of both the armies on the ground in the border areas that led to the improvement in ties.
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