Ahead Of Xi Jinping's India Visit, NSA Ajit Doval And Chinese Diplomat Wang Yi Discuss Early Resolution Of Border Standoff

Ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to India for the G-20 Summit, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi are in talks with each other for the early resolution of the two remaining standoff points at Depsang and Demchok.

According to a report, the discussions include the fine-tuning of the agenda for potential talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, should they materialise during the forthcoming BRICS and G-20 summits.

NSA Doval and Wang have been in contact since their meeting last month during the Brics Summit in South Africa.

While the specific details of their communication are not public, there are indications that the two officials deliberated on the situation along the LAC and the strained bilateral relations.

Both Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to attend the Brics Summit in South Africa next week.

If they engage in structured bilateral discussions, it would mark the first such dialogue between the leaders since 2019.

Additionally, Xi is set to participate in the G-20 Summit in New Delhi on 9 and 10 September.

The reports of these talks are coming just three days after the 19th round of corps commanders talks held on Monday (14 August) failed to make any headway for the disengagement at the two remaining standoff points at Depsang and Demchok.

On Tuesday, following high-level military talks, India and China issued a joint press release committing to maintain tranquillity at the borders and expedite the resolution of remaining issues.

The release stated that “both sides had a positive, constructive and in-depth discussion on the resolution of the remaining issues along the LAC in the western sector”.

Both nations agreed to resolve the outstanding matters swiftly and to sustain dialogue and negotiations through diplomatic and military channels.

Earlier in July, during their meeting in South Africa, the NSA Doval had conveyed to Wang that strategic trust between the two nations has eroded since the Galwan episode.

China has urged India to address these two outstanding issues as part of the broader boundary question.

However, India asserts that the stand-off cannot be resolved until troop disengagement occurs at these points and traditional patrolling points in the area are restored.

The importance of resolving the situation and restoring peace in border areas was stressed, both by Doval and by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in separate interactions with Wang.