China, India Agree To Expedite Resolution Of Border Issue - Chinese Foreign Ministry

China, India Agree to Expedite Resolution of Border Issue - Chinese Foreign Ministry

BEIJING (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st June, 2023) China and India agreed, at consultations in New Delhi, to expedite the resolution of the border issue and to hold another round of talks between senior military officials, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The 27th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs was held on Wednesday.

"The sides also agreed to continue to maintain ties through diplomatic and military channels, to contribute to softening the border situation and further maintaining peace... in the border areas," the ministry said.

The two countries' representatives agreed to hold the 19th round of military command-level talks and the 28th meeting of the Working Mechanism as soon as possible.

India and China have a long-standing territorial dispute over the ownership of nearly 60,000 square kilometers in the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, as well as a mountainous area in northern Kashmir.

The Line of Actual Control (LAC), which replaces the border between the countries in the region, runs in the Ladakh area.

In the fall of 1962, the dispute escalated into a border war. A new aggravation began in Ladakh in May 2020, when a series of conflicts between the military of China and India took place in the Pangong Lake area, after which New Delhi and Beijing increased their military presence in the region.

After the withdrawal of most of the deployed troops in February 2021, the parties held several rounds of talks at the level of diplomats and commanders of units stationed in the region. In early September last year, India and China also conducted a new phase of troop withdrawal on the border in Ladakh.