India, China hold talks on LAC, agree to keep border peace

India and China held diplomatic talks in New Delhi on Thursday to review the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and discuss key issues related to boundary delimitation, border management, and trans-border cooperation. The talks were held under the framework of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC).

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday that the two sides engaged in frank discussions and reviewed the situation along the LAC. It underlined that maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas is essential for the overall development of bilateral relations.

“Both sides agreed to continue to use existing diplomatic and military channels, including the WMCC, local commander-level meetings and other agreed mechanisms, to resolve outstanding issues and avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation along the LAC,” the MEA said in a statement.

As a follow-up to the outcomes of the last edition of Special Representatives talks, the two sides also held detailed exchanges on issues related to boundary delimitation, border management, mechanism-building, and trans-border cooperation, the statement added.

The Indian delegation was led by Sujit Ghosh, Joint Secretary (East Asia) in the MEA. The Chinese delegation was led by Hou Yanqi, Director General of the Boundary and Oceanic Affairs Department at China’s Foreign Ministry.

The MEA said the Indian side reiterated the need for early convening of the next meeting of the expert-level mechanism on trans-border rivers and emphasised the importance of sharing technical details on upstream projects.

This round of talks comes amid ongoing efforts by both countries to manage border tensions and maintain stability along the LAC. The WMCC has been the primary forum for such discussions, complemented by local commander-level meetings and other confidence-building measures.