India, China to Explore Border Demarcation Amid Rising US Tensions

India and China have made a definite positive progress on boundary resolution as both sides are prepared to get the delimitation work underway on the less disputed areas of the border as also work to permanent India-China border demarcation. It was on the 24 th round of IndiaChina Special Representative dialogue between the National Security Advisor of India Ajit Doval and his visiting counterpart Wang Yi on Tuesday that the two sides agreed to the Indian proposal.

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Both sides remain reticent over the particular step forward but the less controversial issues have been pointed out by Chinese NSA Doval and Foreign Minister Wang Yi as the three sectors of the border to be delimited and then demarcated of the border.

The initial stage will be which is the establishment of a technical expert group under the Working Mechanism of consultations and coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC), to be headed by a joint secretary in the MEA.

The second step would consist of the determination of work areas of pieces of land at the border that is likely to cause minimal conflict by both parties.

The third is the delimitation of such territories on the border. The last process will be delineation of the boundary including installation of pillars to serve as international boundary. In simple terms, both India and China have settled to settle the border in a piece-meal basis as opposed to a comprehensive settlement as early harvest can contribute to confidence building between the two Asian giants.

India and China also took forward the next steps following disengagement in the Eastern Sector following the May 2020 skirmishes. Although the problems of buffer sites in contentious regions remain to be addressed, both parties have at least settled on a path of non-aggressive stance by the two armies in East Ladakh and other such regions of the border.

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The move towards non-offensive position will be met by mutual sensitivity and by itself, so as not to pose the military challenge to each other in future. Withdrawal of the tanks, rockets and cannons to non-aggressive positions at the Ladakh LAC keeping the geographies in mind on both sides of the border constitutes the first measure towards de-escalating. Whereas the Indian Ladakh front is characterized by the high mountains, passes, the Chinese side is characterized with flat Tibet mountain plateaus, which enables the PLA to respond even faster than Indian Army.

With both parties agreeing to preserve peace and tranquility of the boundary even in future times, India and China are closely on the path of normalization of relations set up to the April 2020 period. Even though India is well aware of the Chinese deep penetration in Pakistan and in the Indian sub-continent, the shift towards normalcy is the outcome of the meeting of October 23, 2024 between PM Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping.

As the two leaders are again to meet on August 31 at the SCO summit in Tianjin, it is opportune that both the countries look into closer yet more real engagement with keeping mutual interests in question.

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