New Delhi: In an apparent bid to expedite the long standing border dispute with China the government on Monday appointed national security adviser Ajit Doval as the special representative on boundary talks with India’s influential neighbour.
The dialogue process however, came to a halt following a change in government at the Centre after the Lok Sabha polls. The last round of boundary talks between India and China were held in February this year in Delhi between the then NSA Shivshankar Menon and Chinese councillor Yang Jiechi.
The first indication that Mr Doval will be dealing with China on the issue of boundary dispute came when he visited Beijing in September in connection with the India visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“Even though traditionally the NSA is the government’s special representative on boundary talks with China but with Mr Doval now being in charge things will be different from the past. He is known for his hands-on approach on contentious issues so hopefully there should be some significant movement forward,’’ a government functionary said.
Now that a formal dialogue process is going to be back on track, India is determined to discuss a slew of security issues with China in addition to the border dispute.
