India and China Hold Border Talks in New Delhi

India and China held the 36th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India China Border Affairs (WMCC) in New Delhi on Thursday. During the talks, the Indian side stated that maintaining peace and tranquillity in border areas is essential for the overall development of bilateral relations. The two nations engaged in frank discussions to review the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and discussed boundary delimitation, border management, and trans border cooperation.

India specifically emphasized the need for China to share technical details regarding upstream projects on trans border rivers. This request refers to concerns over a mega dam China is constructing on the Yarlung Tsangpo river, which becomes the Brahmaputra in India. India has flagged concerns regarding the environmental impact on downstream regions in India and Bangladesh and called for the early convening of the Expert Level Mechanism on trans border rivers.

Both sides agreed to continue using diplomatic and military channels, including local military commander level meetings, to resolve outstanding issues and avoid miscalculation along the LAC. The Indian delegation was led by joint secretary Sujit Ghosh, while the Chinese team was headed by director general Hou Yanqi. These talks follow a series of high level meetings in July between foreign ministry officials from both countries aimed at normalizing relations following a military standoff that began in April 2020.