LAC standoff: India, China agree to ‘sincerely’ implement Jaishankar-Wang peace plan

NEW DELHI:  Senior officials from India and China held the 19th Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) meeting on Wednesday where the two sides agreed to sincerely implement the agreement reached between the two foreign ministers.

“The two sides attached importance to the meetings between the two Defence Ministers and the two Foreign Ministers held earlier this month. They also noted that the agreement between the two Foreign Ministers should be sincerely implemented to ensure disengagement at all the friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC),” a statement from the ministry of external affairs said.

According to the statement, the two sides positively evaluated the outcome of the 6th Senior Commanders meeting on 21 September.

"They emphasized the need to implement the steps outlined in the joint press release issued after the last meeting of the senior commanders so as to avoid misunderstandings and to maintain stability on the ground. In this context, the need to strengthen communication, especially between the ground commanders, was emphasized by both sides," it added.

Both sides, the statement said, also agreed to continue to maintain close consultations at the diplomatic and military level.

"In this regard, they agreed that the next (7th) round of the meeting of Senior Commanders should be held at an early date so that both sides can work towards early and complete disengagement of the troops along the LAC in accordance with the existing bilateral agreement and protocols, and fully restore peace and tranquility," the statement stated.

Earlier in the day, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that diplomats from both sides are holding a meeting to devise a mechanism to implement the five-point consensus arrived at by the two foreign ministers in Moscow.