The eight-point consensus reached at the 25th round of talks between Special Representatives (SRs) Ajit Doval and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing is a welcome step ahead of the expected visit of President Xi Jinping to India for the BRICS Summit.

Some of the outcomes concern the maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the border areas, and advancing negotiations on a framework for the settlement of the boundary question in accordance with previous agreements. There is a specific reference to advancing discussions through an Expert Group and Working Group respectively, to explore an “early harvest” of boundary delimitation in appropriate sectors, and effective border management.

Last year, there was agreement in principle on working towards setting up additional General-Level Mechanisms/Senior Highest Military Commander (SHMC) meetings in the Eastern and Middle sectors akin to the existing mechanism in the Western sector at Chushul/Moldo.

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This time, the two sides agreed to implement that understanding along with establishing two hotlines in the Eastern and Middle Sectors. Going forward, the implementation will have to be handled carefully.

National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval with China Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi ahead of the 25th round of Special Representatives (SR), in Beijing, China. (Handout via PTI Photo)

The past as prologue

In 1992, the Joint Working Group (JWG) on the Boundary Question decided on confidence building measures (CBMs) such as border personnel meetings (BPMs), complementing forward movement on border trade.

A sub-group of the JWG was created following the border peace and tranquillity agreement (BPTA) of 1993 — the India-China Expert Group of Diplomatic and Military Officials (EG), a precursor to the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC), an institutional mechanism for border management set up in 2012.

After the success achieved in 1995 on disengagement at Sumdorong Chu (along the India-China Line of Actual Control in Arunachal Pradesh), Lipulekh (Middle Sector) and Dichu (Eastern Sector) were subsequently identified as additional military meeting points. The plan for BPMs at Lipulekh was abandoned due to lack of infrastructure and adverse weather conditions. A trial meeting at Dichu in the Kibithu sector in Arunachal Pradesh was finalised. Dichu is a sensitive area in Anjaw district, and the site of a famous battle in 1962 at Hill 100, in which the Kumaon Regiment did the Indian Army proud. The site chosen for the BPM on Madan Ridge proved contentious. No further meetings could take place.

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It was not until 2014 that the proposal for additional points for BPMs was revived. Eventually, it was decided to have regular BPMs at Wacha/Kibithu in the same sector opposite Damai on the Chinese side, in addition to existing venues across Bum La in Arunachal Pradesh and Nathu La in Sikkim.

Together with BPMs across the Lungnak Lungpa stream at Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) and Tianwendian (TWD) in the Chip Chap valley, and at the Chushul–Moldo meeting point in the Spanggur Gap, these have contributed to the two militaries maintaining direct contact.

Additional meetings would further the cause of peace.

Existing hotlines at DBO and Chushul, some informal communication at Demchok in the Western Sector, and similar hotlines at Nathu La (Sikkim) and Bum La and Kibithu in the Eastern Sector have provided the two militaries with channels for direct contact. The two additional hotline channels agreed to for the Eastern and Middle sectors could strengthen this capacity and help defuse local tensions.

The road ahead

The SRs are working to realise the consensus reached between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi at Kazan in October 2024 and at Tianjin in August 2025 on improving ties.

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Recent developments such as the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, direct flights, and border trade are meaningful steps in the right direction.

However, the road ahead, especially on the task of “early and substantial harvest of boundary delimitation and border management” may be long and arduous, requiring patient negotiations. It would be premature to suggest that substantive boundary delimitation has already begun in earnest. After all, the Expert Group and Working Group under the WMCC are now explicitly tasked with finalising their respective Terms of Reference. That means the framework is being created and the process is being activated incrementally.

There is also the issue of making piecemeal progress as against a more holistic settlement of differences along the Line of Actual Control. Neither the Sikkim sub-sector nor the Middle Sector are free from the burden of differences. The negotiators must be empowered to engage in meaningful discussions. They must have sufficient experience in handling a matter that has proved vexatious for previous generations.

If taken in the right direction, the guidance provided by the political leadership can lead to lasting peace and offer a window for substantive cooperation between two large and populous neighbours in an era of global flux.

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(The author is Director General, Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. He was also head of the Indian side in the Expert Group of Diplomatic and Military Officials negotiating with China between 1996 and 2000)