India and China have agreed to stay in close contact and maintain dialogue via military and diplomatic channels to work out a mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues on the border at the earliest, a top official said on Friday. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi, in a briefing, referring to the border standoff in eastern Ladakh, said: “As you are aware, the 14th round of India China Corp Commanders level meeting was held on January 12th this year. The two sides agreed that resolution of the remaining issues at the earliest would help in restoration of peace and tranquility along the Line of Actual Control in the western sector and enable progress in bilateral relations. “The two sides agreed to stay in close contact and maintain dialogue via military and diplomatic channels and work out a mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues at the earliest. In this context, it was also agreed that the next round of Commanders level talks should be held at the earliest. “We will share with you once we have any update on this.” China on Thursday said it will work “closely” with India to properly handle the ongoing border tension even as it criticised the US for saying it was concerned by Beijing’s attempts to coerce its neighbours, including India. The Chinese defence ministry said the border problem is a bilateral matter and both China and India oppose interference from a third party. Chinese defence ministry spokesperson Wu Qian said, “…some American politicians are so fond of using the word ‘coerce’ that they seem to have forgotten that the US is the inventor and master player of ‘coercive diplomacy’.” China neither “coerces” nor is “coerced” by others, and strongly opposes the US forcing “coercive diplomacy” on other countries, Wu said. He was referring to comments by White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki that the US was concerned by China’s attempt to “intimidate” its neighbours, including India. “We’ve been pretty clear how we view Beijing’s behaviour in the region and around the world. We believe it can be destabilising. And we’re concerned by the People’s Republic of China’s attempt to intimidate its neighbours,” Psaki said. “We continue to support dialogue and peaceful resolution of these border disputes,” she said, adding, “We’ll continue to stand with our partners on that.” Wu stressed that the Chinese side believed that the last round of talks were positive and constructive. “…China will work closely with the Indian side to properly handle the border issue through negotiation and consultation,” Wu was quoted as saying by the official China Military Online website. Referring to the joint statement issued after the talks, Wu said the two sides agreed that they should follow the guidance provided by the leaders of the two countries and work for the resolution of the remaining issues at the earliest.
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