India, China agree to maintain tranquility along LAC

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee in response to a question in Lok Sabha today said that India and China have agreed to maintain peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on Sino-Indian border without prejudice to their respective positions on the alignment of the Line of Actual Control as well as on the boundary question.

New Delhi, Feb 27 : External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee in response to a question in Lok Sabha today said that India and China have agreed to maintain peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on Sino-Indian border without prejudice to their respective positions on the alignment of the Line of Actual Control as well as on the boundary question.

He said that both sides have agreed to clarify their positions on the LAC and will take up perceived violations through established mechanisms, including the Joint Working Group, the Expert Group, border personnel meetings, flag meetings and diplomatic channels until a final decision on the dispute is taken.

The resolution of the international boundary dispute between India and China was first taken up in 1993.

The boundary dispute between India and China involves large areas along their 4,000-kilometre border.

India says China is occupying 43,180 sq km of Jammu and Kashmir, including 5,180 sq km ceded to Beijing by Islamabad under the Sino-Pakistan boundary agreement of 1963.

China, in turn, says India is in possession of some 90,000 sq km of Chinese territory, mostly in Arunachal Pradesh.

Before the appointment of Special Representatives, eight rounds of border talks had already been held between 1981 and 1987 and an additional 14 Joint Working Group meetings between 1988 and 2003. Since 2003, the special representatives of the two countries have had eleven rounds of talks on the boundary disputes.

ANI