India-China Foreign Ministers Reach 5-Point Consensus To De-Escalate Border Situation

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.

By  — Shyamal Sinha

On Thursday, Indian external affairs S. Jaishankar and Chinese state councillor Wang Yi met for the first time after the start of the crisis, just six days after their ministerial colleagues in charge of defence had also held their first face-to-face meeting to discuss the stand-off on September 4.According to a joint press statement, the two ministers agreed that the current situation in the border areas is not in the interest of either side. “They agreed therefore that the border troops of both sides should continue their dialogue, quickly disengage, maintain proper distance and ease tensions,” the statement said.

Jaishankar and Wang Yi also agreed that both sides shall abide by the existing agreements and protocol on China-India boundary affairs, maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas and avoid any action that could escalate matters.

The five-point consensus also includes taking “guidance from the series of consensus of the leaders on developing India-China relations, including not allowing differences to become disputes”.

1. The two Ministers agreed that both sides should take guidance from the series of consensuses of the leaders on developing India-China relations, including not allowing differences to become disputes.

2. The two Foreign Ministers agreed that the current situation in the border areas is not in the interest of either side. They agreed therefore that the border troops of both sides should continue their dialogue, quickly disengage, maintain proper distance and ease tensions.

3. The two Ministers agreed that both sides shall abide by all the existing agreements and protocol on China-India boundary affairs, maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas and avoid any action that could escalate matters.

4. The two sides also agreed to continue to have dialogue and communication through the Special Representative mechanism on the India-China boundary question. They also agreed in this context that the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China border affairs (WMCC), should also continue its meetings.

5. The Ministers agreed that as the situation eases, the two sides should expedite work to conclude new Confidence Building Measures to maintain and enhance peace and tranquillity in the border areas.

The two sides, the statement said, agreed to continue to have dialogue and communication through the Special Representative mechanism on the boundary question and the ministers agreed that as the situation eases, the two sides should expedite work to conclude new confidence building measures to maintain and enhance peace and tranquillity in the border areas.

Jaishankar and Wang Yi met in Moscow on the sidelines of the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Their talks come after a meeting between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Chinese counterpart General Wei Fenghe in…

Those deadly clashes had occurred 1.5 months after India had detected an inordinate number of Chinese troops positioned far beyond their usual patrolling limits at the LAC. While Indian and Chinese military commanders had drawn up a disengagement plan, the road to its implementation has been bumpy.