China ready to discuss delimitation after Rajnath Singh’s visit, said – border dispute with India is complex

New Delhi. China said on Monday that China’s border dispute with India is complex and it will take time to resolve it. However, they are ready to discuss delimitation. So that peace is maintained in the border area.

This statement came from China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning when a bilateral meeting was held between India’s Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and China’s Defense Minister Dong Jun on June 26 during the SCO Defense Ministers’ Conference in Qingdao.

During this bilateral meeting, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh proposed a “structured roadmap” for clear demarcation of the border to reduce tension on the LAC (Line of Actual Control). He called for taking steps to reduce tension on the border and activate the existing mechanism for delimitation.

In Beijing, when the media asked China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning to comment on the statement of Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, Mao said that both the countries have already established the Special Representative (SR) mechanism. The media asked Mao Ning that 23 meetings of Special Representative (SR) have been held between the two countries, then why is it taking so long to resolve the border dispute? In response, Mao said, ‘The border question is complex and it takes time to resolve it’.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that the positive thing is that both the countries have already established communication at various levels to resolve the border dispute and establish peace. When Mao was asked whether a timeline could be set to resolve the border dispute between India and China, he said – We hope that India will work with China in the same direction and continue dialogue on complex issues. So that peace and stability can be maintained in the border areas.

What has happened so far?
The 23rd meeting of the Special Representative (SR) was held in September last year between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and India’s NSA Ajit Doval. In that meeting, both the countries confirmed the 2024 disengagement agreement. Which allowed the resumption of patrolling and animal grazing activities in the respective areas.

This time in Qingdao, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh called for action at the ground level to overcome the lack of trust in the border area due to the 2020 deadlock.

India-China border dispute
India and China are the two largest countries in the Asian continent, between which the border dispute has been going on for decades. This border dispute not only affects both the countries. But it also affects the peace and security of the entire Asian continent. Both countries share a 3,488 km long border, which is divided into three parts.

China has occupied Aksai Chin in the western sector Ladakh. It is a part of Ladakh. China considers it a part of Xinjiang province. There is also a border dispute between the two countries in the Uttarakhand-Himachal region in the central sector. However, the dispute is over much smaller areas. China considers the eastern sector Arunachal Pradesh as its part. China considers it a part of Tibet.
Recent disputes between the two countries

In 2017, there was a dispute between China and India in Doklam. China tried to build roads on the India-Bhutan-China tri-junction, which India strongly opposed. Indian soldiers and Chinese soldiers remained face to face for 73 days.

Violent clash in Galwan in 2020
On 15-16 June 2020, soldiers of China and India came face to face on the LAC in the Galwan Valley. Clash between soldiers of both countries. In this clash, 20 soldiers of India were martyred. These included a commander as well. At the same time, China did not initially give any information about the death of its soldiers. However, the death of four soldiers was later accepted.

Clash in Tawang in 2022
In Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh, in 2022, both the armies came face to face and clashed. This clash made it clear that the tension between the two countries continues.