Yet again the issue of settling the boundary question between India and China remained where it has been since the inception the Special Representatives’ dialogue mechanism in 2003 without any tangible political outcome.

The 20th round of Special Representatives’ talks was held here on Friday between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Yang Jiechi, Chinese State Councillor and Member of Politburo of Communist Party of China’s Central Committee.

Both Doval and Yang are the designated Special Representatives of their respective governments on the boundary settlement issue.

This was the first such meeting since both sides came out of a bitter military face-off atop Doklam plateau in the tri-junction region of India-China-Bhutan.

“The talks were positive and focussed on bringing out the full potential of the Closer Developmental Partnership between the two countries.

“They re-emphasised their commitment to achieve a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution to the India-China boundary question at an early date,” said a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs post the meeting.

The MEA also highlighted that until such time the boundary issue is settled, it is critical both sides adhere to “peace and tranquility in the border areas”.

It also said that both Special Representatives also swapped ideas on various confidence building measures. However, it was not clear what exactly those measures were as the statement did not mention those.

However, sources told BusinessLine , India pushed China to establish the long pending hot-line between both the military headquarters in order to implement an effective channel of communication on the border issue.

BRI initiative

It seems that the Chinese side urged India to review its decision of boycotting the multi-billion dollar infrastructure project of ‘One Belt One Road’ (OBOR). India is opposed to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a section of OBOR, which cuts across Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and India considers it to be a disputed region, according to sources.

Sources said China also raised the issue of the 73-day long Doklam standoff that brought both countries almost on the brink of a skirmish.

However, apart from the boundary issue, both officials also discussed other bilateral issues and vowed to maintain regular contact.

“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,” MEA said.

Later in the day, State Councillor Yang met Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Doval.

During his meeting with the Prime Minister, Yang is believed to have expressed China’s desire to be party to the recently revived ‘Quadrilateral’ or ‘Quad’, a security and strategic grouping amongst US, Japan, Australia and India, sources said. The last round of Special Representatives’ talks was held in April 2016 in Beijing.

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