India, China hold first border talks post-Doklam

India and China held their first border talks after the Doklam military standoff, which ended last August, in Beijing on Friday.

The talks under the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) were "constructive and forward-looking", the Indian embassy said in a statement.

This will be followed by border talks, expected next month, between special representatives of the two countries. The SR mechanism explores the possibilities of resolving the border dispute in all its dimensions while the WMCC's focus is on maintaining peace in the border area on a day-to-day basis.

India's effort is to ensure that Chinese troops do not resume building a crucial road link in the India-China-Bhutan tri-junction near Bhutan, which sparked off the border standoff.

Officials from both countries, including Pranay Verma, joint secretary (East Asia), MEA, and Xiao Qian, director-general, department of Asian affairs, reviewed the situation in all sectors of the India-China border and agreed that maintenance of peace in border areas was an important prerequisite for sustained growth of bilateral relations, the statement said.

They also exchanged views on further confidence-building measures and strengthening of military contacts. This is the 10th round of the WMCC which was established in 2012.

The negotiations come ahead of Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi's planned visit to India to take part in the Russia, India and China foreign ministers' meeting to be held in New Delhi next month.

Source: The Times of India