Jaishankar, Wang to intensify LAC disengagement efforts
In what was their first structured meeting since July 2023, Jaishankar and Wang, who is also a member of the political bureau of the Communist Party of China, decided that the Working Mechanism on Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) should hold an early meeting towards the process to achieve complete disengagement, officials said.
The last (29th meeting) of the WMCC was held on March 27 this year in Beijing. The joint secretary (East Asia) at the Ministry of External Affairs had led the Indian delegation. The Chinese side was led by the director general of the Boundary & Oceanic Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
On Thursday, both ministers agreed to continue and step up meetings of diplomatic and military officials to take forward their discussions to resolve the remaining issues at the earliest.
At the leadership level, the Indian Prime Minister and the Chinese President have not sat down for a structured meeting since the Galwan episode. It is not yet clear if any breakthrough can be achieved before the BRICS Summit in October in Russia.
Jaishankar and Wang had an in-depth exchange of views on finding an early resolution of the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh to stabilise and rebuild relations, officials said.
The two ministers agreed that prolongation of the current situation in the border areas is not in the interest of either side, according to a MEA readout. Jaishankar highlighted the need to restore border peace and
