BEIJING – Beijing is likely to raise the issue of the bifurcation of Jammuand Kashmir at the coming talks between India and China on the boundarydispute in Mumbai on 21 December, diplomatic sources said here on Monday.
The talks would be held between Special Representatives (SR) of the twocountries. While National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval is the SR onthe Indian side, Foreign Minister Wang Yi is China’s SR for the talks.
Sources said Wang was expected to raise the J&K Issue because itsbifurcation has effectively challenged China’s sovereignty. “India’sdecision to include some of China’s territory into administrativejurisdiction has challenged Beijing’s sovereignty,” they added, ostensiblyreferring to Aksai Chin in Ladakh.
The talks were scheduled to be held in September but had to be postponedbecause of scheduling issues. India was also not enthused since Wang hadclubbed his proposed visit to India with his trip to Pakistan. Also, tiesbetween the two nations at that point had come under strain because ofIndia’s decision to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution in J & K.
This will be the first high-level engagement between India and China afterthe second informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and ChinesePresident Xi Jinping at Mamallapuram in October.
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Sources said both Doval and Wang would look to take the developmentpartnership forward in keeping with the guidance provided by the topleaders of the two countries. Both Modi and President Xi had underlined theimportance of the dialogue between the two SRs for maintaining peace andtranquillity along the border.
Sources acknowledged that the lingering boundary dispute was a cause ofdistrust between the two countries and, therefore, a solution to it must beexpedited. Till then, the two countries should ensure that differencesbetween them do not become disputes.
The last round of talks between the two SRs was held at Chengdu (China) in2018 when Doval and Wang had directed the bilateral working mechanism onconsultation and coordination for border affairs to work for moreconfidence-building measures (CBMs) which could promote communicationbetween Indian and Chinese border personnel.
