Mansarovar Yatra and direct flights between India and China will resume

India and China have decided to convene a meeting of their special representatives on the border issue as soon as possible after almost five years. The two countries have taken this decision a few weeks after withdrawing their troops from two confrontational places in eastern Ladakh.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi held talks late Monday night on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, discussing the next steps in India-China relations. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, both the ministers felt that it is necessary to stabilize the relationship, resolve differences and take the next steps.

This was the first high-level conversation between the two sides after the completion of the process of withdrawal of troops in Depsang and Demchok on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. The Ministry of External Affairs said that both the ministers agreed that the withdrawal of troops in the border areas has helped in maintaining peace and harmony. The main topic of this discussion was on the next steps in India-China relations. The two sides agreed that meetings of special representatives and foreign secretary-deputy minister level would be held soon.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, several key steps were discussed in the meeting, including resumption of Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, sharing of data on cross-border rivers, direct flights between India and China and mutual movement of media persons. This meeting was particularly important because direct flights and Kailash Mansarovar Yatra between the two countries were suspended for the last few years due to the Kovid-19 epidemic.

In the meeting, Foreign Minister Jaishankar told Wang that India is against a unilateral approach to establish dominance and does not look at its relations through the prism of other countries. The Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement, "On the global situation and international issues, the Foreign Minister said that there are both differences and similarities between India and China. We have worked constructively in the BRICS and SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) framework."

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, Foreign Minister Wang Yi agreed with Jaishankar and said that India-China relations have special significance in world politics. Wang said that the leaders of the two countries had agreed on the way forward in Kazan and both the ministers felt that it was necessary to focus on stabilizing relations, resolving differences and taking next steps.

After the withdrawal of troops was completed, the Indian and Chinese armies have started one round of patrolling each in Depsang and Demchok. Both sides have maintained deployment of troops on the LAC and now the focus will be on reducing tensions in totality. At present, about 50,000 to 60,000 soldiers of both sides are deployed on the LAC in the area.

It is believed that both sides are in the process of reworking several communication systems, including special representative talks on the border. On October 23, Russia's Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a meeting with the Prime Minister. The agreement was reached between the two countries after a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Kazan. In this meeting, both the leaders agreed on future steps, which are now being implemented.

After the military withdrawal, the Indian Army is trying to restore trust and to achieve this objective, both sides have to reassure each other. Two days after the signing of the agreement, Modi and Xi held talks in the Russian city of Kazan, in which mutual trust and cooperation between the two countries was emphasized.