Prelims: Current events of national and international importance | International Relations.
Why in News?
Recently, India and China jointly announced the Special Representatives (SR) dialogue on the boundary question.
- Special Representatives (SR) Dialogue – Co-chaired by Ajit Doval (India) and Wang Yi (China).
- Outcome – 8-point consensus.
- Aimed at – Improving boundary management and bilateral relations.
- Early & Substantial Harvest – Expert and Working Group will advance discussions on an “Early and Substantial Harvest” of border management.
- Terms of Reference (ToR) – The first task of both groups is to finalise their respective ToRs.
- Border management – Agreement on 2 additional military meeting points and 2 additional military hotline channels in the Eastern and Middle Sectors.
- LAC – Both sides agreed to improve understanding of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in appropriate areas.
- LAC is the line separating areas of actual control between India and China. It is not a mutually demarcated international boundary.
- Diplomatic & military channels – Ground situations will be addressed through WMCC, local commander-level meetings and other agreed mechanisms.
- WMCC (Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination) It deals primarily with border-related management and diplomatic coordination
- Boundary settlement – Negotiations will follow the 2005 Agreement on Political Parameters and Guiding Principles for settlement of the India–China boundary question.
- Border trade – Both sides welcomed the reopening of three designated border trading points and agreed to strengthen border trade and pilgrimage.
- Kailash-Manasarovar Yatra – China agreed to increase the number of batches of Indian pilgrims.
- Trans-border rivers – The next meeting of the Expert-Level Mechanism on Trans-border Rivers is scheduled for September.
- Hydrological data – Both sides will continue communication on hydrological data sharing and renewal of relevant MoUs.
- Next SR Talks – 26th round is to be held in India in 2027.
Reference
The Times of India| 8-Point Boundary Consensus (India–China)
