Striking the right chords to resolve border row

In the midst of continuing face-offs on the disputed border between India and China, people shouldn't miss the silver linings to the clouds. Last Friday, for example, saw unusually high-level interactions between the two countries' foreign and defense ministers, indicating their desire to strike conciliatory chords and commitment to resolving border disputes peacefully.

To begin with, the joint statement issued after the BRICS foreign ministers videoconference on Sept 4 concurred that "irrespective of their historic background and distinctive nature, conflicts should be resolved by peaceful means".

Then, at their first ever face-to-face meeting since border tensions rose in early May, the two countries' defense ministers－on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization defense ministers' meeting in Moscow on Friday-deliberated on the possible ways and means to achieve an expeditious disengagement of their forces, an issue that remains knotted in the differences in their perceptions about the Line of Actual Control (LAC).