India-China to add hotlines in eastern, middle sectors

NEW DELHI: India and China have reached an understanding on the creation of two additional meeting points for General Level Mechanism/Senior Highest Military Commander meetings and two additional channels of border military hotlines in the Eastern and Middle sectors, with the objective of improving border management and stabilising the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

The understanding, broadly on eight points, was reached through a consensus at the 25th round of talks in Beijing on Tuesday between the Special Representatives (SRs) of India and China on the boundary question, led by Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi and NSA Ajit Doval. The two sides held a candid and in-depth exchange of views on the India-China boundary question.

The 3,488-km LAC is divided into three main sectors and is supported by established ground-level communication channels. India and China maintain military hotlines across the sectors to help local ground commanders resolve border issues quickly. The Western Sector has two active military hotlines for local commanders, while the Eastern Sector has two established hotlines. The Middle Sector covers Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. It was agreed that the Expert Group on Boundary Delimitation and the Working Group on Border Management under the WMCC would respectively advance discussions on an "early and substantial harvest" on boundary delimitation and border management. The first task for both groups would be to agree on their respective terms of reference, according to the official communique.


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The two sides also agreed that any situation on the ground would be addressed promptly through 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. They also discussed ways to improve understanding of the LAC in appropriate areas for better border management, according to the official communique. The two sides reaffirmed their commitment to uphold the guidance received from the leaders of the two countries, maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas and create an atmosphere for the healthy and steady development of bilateral relations.

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Both sides underlined their commitment to advancing negotiations on a framework for settlement of the boundary question in accordance with the 2005 Agreement on Political Parameters and Guiding Principles for Settlement of the India-China Boundary Question, as well as the consensus reached during subsequent SR talks, in pursuit of a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution.

The 26th round of SR talks will be held in India in 2027.