The Sino-Indian Border Conflict: The two foreign ministers’ joint statement seeks to quickly end the confrontation, some analysts describe it as “surprising” -BBC News

The border conflict between China and India has shown signs of rapid deterioration in recent days. The two countries have previously accused each other’s soldiers of firing weapons. India also accused the Chinese army of kidnapping several Indians, but China denied this. The Chinese and Indian foreign ministers held bilateral talks during the meeting of foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Moscow and agreed to end the confrontation “quickly”.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (Subrahmanyam Jaishankar) issued a joint statement on Thursday (September 10), stating that “the current situation is not good for both. parties “and therefore agreed that the soldiers of both parties should continue talking, quickly end the confrontation and maintain adequate distance and relieve tension.

The statement added that the two sides will accelerate the implementation of measures that can “maintain and strengthen peace and tranquility,” but did not specify.

China’s Foreign Ministry Says China and India Will Reach Five-Point Consensus

• The two foreign ministers agreed that the two sides should follow a series of important consensuses reached by the leaders of the two countries on the development of China-India relations, including preventing differences between the two countries from turning into disputes.
• The two foreign ministers believe that the current situation in the border area does not benefit both parties. The border defense forces of the two countries must continue the dialogue, disconnect contact as soon as possible, maintain the necessary distance and alleviate the situation on the ground.
• The two foreign ministers believe that the two sides should comply with existing agreements and regulations on border matters, maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas, and avoid any action that could aggravate the situation.
• The two sides agreed to continue maintaining communication through the China-India border affairs special representatives meeting mechanism and to continue holding consultations on the China-India border matters and coordination mechanisms.
• The two foreign ministers agreed that as the situation improves, the two sides should accelerate the completion of new mutual confidence-building measures to maintain and enhance peace and tranquility in the border area.

“Unofficial communication channels are effective”

The two countries have clashed in border areas since June this year. China previously accused the Indian army of crossing the line of royal control and then “provocatively” fired a gun to warn Chinese personnel on patrol missions. India denies the accusations, instead alleging that Chinese personnel shot into the sky, “a clear violation of the agreement between the two parties.”

Prior to this, India notified China that five Indian civilians had been abducted by Chinese soldiers. China later noted that these “missing” civilians had been recovered and were preparing to hand them over to the Indian authorities.

In June, clashes broke out between the soldiers of the two sides. The two sides did not use firearms, but the confrontation resulted in the death of 20 Indian soldiers. Local media described the Indian soldiers as “beaten to death”.

BBC reporter Vikas Pandey described the joint statement by the Chinese and Indian foreign ministers as surprising but also very important.

He said that many analyzes believe that the chances of a small conflict between the two sides are increasing, but the foreign ministers of the two countries can still reach an agreement and issue a joint statement, which “shows the effectiveness of unofficial communication channels. “.

The actual control line of the China-India border is approximately 3,440 kilometers long. There are rivers, lakes, and snow along the way, and the actual border is constantly changing as a result.

The two countries have held multiple rounds of talks in recent decades to try to resolve differences, but have yet to do so.