India, China to hold border talks

BEIJING - India and China will hold border talks to resolve the long-running boundary dispute between the two nations and lay the ground for Chinese premier Wen Jiabao’s visit to New Delhi next month.

National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon, who arrived here on Sunday, will hold talks with State Councillor Dai Bingguo, China’s designated special representative for the boundary negotiations.

The two officials aided by Indian Abassador to China, S Jaishankar are set to meet this noon.

Thirteen rounds of talks have been held so far to resolve the boundary question.

This is the second visit of Shivshankar Menon to China this year. He visited the country in July as Prime Minister’s special envoy and held talks with both Wen and Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.

The last round of special representatives’ talks was held in New Delhi in 2009 between the then NSA, M K Narayanan, and Dai.

The latest round assumes significance as it precedes the final senior-level discussions between the two countries before the Chinese premier’s New Delhi visit.

Though India and China began discussions to resolve the border dispute in 1980, the process got an impetus after the two countries agreed to hold talks by designated special representatives.

The two countries also signed agreements in 1993 and 1996 to maintain peace and stability in the border areas. In 2005, China and India signed a political guiding principle on demarcation of the boundary. (ANI)