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India, China begin talks on border issue

IRNA

New Delhi, Oct 24, IRNA -- Four months after being appointed as 
Special Representatives to address the 4060-km long contentious border
dispute, the Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister, Dai Bingguo, and India`s 
National Security Adviser, Brajesh Mishra, held their first-ever 
meeting Thursday. 
According to local press reports, Dai and Mishra first held a 
one-on-one meeting Thursday morning and were then joined by other 
members of their delegations. The Chinese Special Representative, who 
arrived here Wednesday night, is accompanied by a six-member 
delegation. 
On Friday, Dai will call on India`s Prime Minister, Atal Bihari 
Vajpayee, and the External Affairs Minister, Yashwant Sinha. 
The Special Representatives have been tasked to look at the border
dispute from a political perspective and evolve a framework to help 
address the dispute as per the India-China joint statement issued in 
June this year. 
No details of the meeting were released to the press. However, 
depending on the deliberations, a formal statement may be issued to 
the media later Friday. 
A significant part of the agenda, however, is that Dai and Mishra,
both of whom enjoy the confidence of their leaders, will fix a date to
meet again. 
According to official sources, the fact that Dai and Mishra will 
meet again show that the two sides are serious about the process 
which, it is hoped, will help resolve the border dispute. 
Prior to the meeting of Vajpayee and his Chinese counterpart, Wen 
Jiabao, in Bali earlier this month, Beijing informed New Delhi that it
would remove Sikkim from the list of independent countries maintained 
on the official Chinese Foreign Ministry website. The promise was 
adhered to. 
As far as India is concerned, a detailed meeting of the Cabinet 
Committee on Security was held recently with a single-point agenda - 
India`s relations with China. 
One of its objectives was to provide Mishra with a "brief" to help
in the talks with Dai. 
Dai is also expected to visit Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram. 
/211 
End