Slow and steady on China front

De-escalation, restoration of status quo and normalisation of bilateral ties need to be addressed with clarity and coherence

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The first meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on India-China border affairs (on December 5) since the disengagement of troops at Demchok and Depsang is part of what is expected to be a long and arduous process to address the long-standing boundary dispute. It follows meetings between the top leadership and foreign and defence ministers of the two countries over the past two months. While the leaders and ministers can provide overall guidance for the process, it is mechanisms such as the WMCC that will have to address the nuts and bolts of the issue of border management, which suffered the biggest setback in more than two decades because of China's violation of past agreements and protocols through the m