Beijing: India and China today held the sixth round of working mechanism border talks amid reports that Beijing has proposed a code of conduct between armies in border areas in addition to the boundary pact signed last year.
An Indian delegation headed by Gautam Bambawale, Joint Secretary East Asia, External Affairs Ministry, held talks with the Chinese side in the sixth round of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border formed in 2012.
The mechanism came in handy to deal with the crisis arising out of Chinese incursions in the Depsang valley in Ladakh in April last year near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) when the People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops pitched tents.
The standoff was eventually resolved with the withdrawal of the Chinese contingent followed by the landmark Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) signed during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to China last year.
In order to avert incidents like the one in Depsang Valley along the 4,000 km long boundary, BDCA mentioned several procedures in the event of faceoffs between the two militaries in areas where there is no common understanding of the LAC.
Today's meeting took place in the backdrop of media reports that said China has proposed a code of conduct in the last round of Special Representatives talks on border dispute.
The meeting came after China's deputy army chief Lt Gen Qi Jianguo recently visited India.
A visit by Chinese Defence Minister Cheng Wanquang to India has been planned later this year while the two countries have also planned to hold their annual military exercises in India.
Indian naval vessel INS Shivalik took part in recent 65th celebrations of Chinese People's liberation Navy (PLAN) held at Qingdao port in China.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, April 29, 2014, 00:46
