India, China: New border coordination mechanism

India and China Tuesday operationalised the recent agreement on border coordination mechanism by framing mutually agreed rules to avert conflict at their disputed frontier. The Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs, which was formed during the 15th round of border talks in New Delhi in January, has now been operationalised, pti reported quoting an Indian official who attended the first meeting said in Beijing. The border mechanism was formed to avoid any untoward incidents between the troops on ground while patrolling the various points. The two-day talks, which were concluded today, were held between an Indian delegation led Gautam Bambawale, Joint Secretary (East Asia) of the External Affairs Ministry and Deng Zhonghua, Director General, Department of Boundary and Oceanic Affairs of China. The two sides also discussed the possibility of an alternate route for the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra and additional items for border trade at Nathu La Pass in Sikkim. The seven-member Indian delegation included senior officials of the Home and Defence ministries as well members of the Indian Army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police. The Chinese delegation included representatives from Foreign Ministry and Ministry of National Defence. India and China have held 15 rounds of talks by Special Representatives to resolve diffences over demarcation of the borders. 'The talks were held in a constructive and forward looking atmosphere with the common objective of continuing to maintain peace and tranquility in the India-China border areas,' a statement issued by the Indian side. The Indian statement said the two delegations 'agreed on the rules governing the functioning of the Mechanism, which include convening 1-2 meetings a year, and if required, holding of emergency consultations either through meetings or by telephone/video conferencing'. The meeting also reviewed the situation prevailing in the India-China border areas and noted the adherence by both sides to the various agreements for maintenance of peace and tranquility. 'At the same time they stressed the need for continuing efforts towards this objective and discussed additional confidence building measures between the two sides,' it said, adding that the next meeting will be held in India at a mutually agreed dates. The Indian delegation called on Fu Ying, Chinese Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs. Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said the two countries should do well 'very well' on specifics in implementing the agreements on maritime security and border mechanism. 'We believe we need to do all these specifics very well in implementation of important agreement reached at the leadership level, including conducting consultations between two sides on maritime security and working together to ensure peace and tranquility in China-India border areas,' he said without directly making mention of the talks on the border mechanism. Yang, who visited New Delhi last week and met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, told his annual media conference here today that both the countries want to see continuous, sound and steady growth of their bilateral relations and want to enhance, increase mutual trust and expand cooperation. 'I had a through exchange of views and meeting of minds with my Indian counterpart on a series of aspects, including to maintain the momentum of high-level exchanges between the two countries, advance the practical cooperation on all field and intensifying cultural exchanges between the two sides,' he said replying to a question.