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National Security Adviser Ajit Doval departed for Beijing on Monday to take part in the India-China Special Representative (SR) Talks on the long-running boundary dispute with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

The two officials are scheduled to hold the 25th round of the SR talks on Tuesday under a mechanism established in 2003 to address the complex boundary dispute along the 3,488-km India-China border.

Although the dialogue has not resolved the dispute, officials on both sides continue to view the structured mechanism as an important channel for managing recurring tensions and maintaining communication between the two countries.

Talks Gain Significance Ahead Of BRICS Summit

The latest round of discussions comes ahead of the much-anticipated BRICS summit in New Delhi on September 12-13, where Chinese President Xi Jinping is widely expected to participate.

While Beijing has not officially confirmed Xi's visit, officials from both countries remain optimistic that he will attend, potentially creating an opportunity for a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the summit.

The two leaders last met in August last year during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin, where they discussed efforts to advance bilateral ties.

Jaishankar Reiterates Border Peace Is Key

Ahead of the Beijing talks, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stressed that peace and tranquillity along the border remain essential for stable ties with China.

Speaking at the Economic Times World Leaders Forum in New Delhi on Saturday, Jaishankar reflected on the deterioration in relations between the summer of 2020 and the autumn of 2024, saying the downturn stemmed primarily from developments in the border areas.

"At the end of the day, peace and tranquillity in the border areas is a prerequisite for good relations, and the state of the border, to a very large measure, naturally would determine the state of the relations," he said.

His remarks came amid reports of increased Chinese military activity in Arunachal Pradesh's Upper Subansiri region in recent weeks.

China Says Border Situation Remains Stable

Responding to concerns over military activity near the Arunachal Pradesh border, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on August 12 that the border situation was "generally stable at the moment".

Guo said India and China had recently held the 36th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on China-India Border Affairs, where both sides agreed to continue communication through diplomatic and military channels.

He said the two countries would work together to uphold peace and tranquillity along the border.

India Maintains Firm Stand On Arunachal Pradesh

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal reiterated on August 11 that India treats border-related matters with China as "most serious" and maintained that stability along the Line of Actual Control is of "utmost importance" because it shapes the overall direction of bilateral relations.

Earlier, New Delhi also rejected Beijing's criticism over India's decision to formally assign standard names to 27 places and geographical features in Arunachal Pradesh.

India asserted that Arunachal Pradesh is an "inalienable and integral" part of the country and said no action could alter that "indisputable reality".

China, which claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of South Tibet, has issued its own set of names for locations in the region since 2017. India has repeatedly dismissed those moves as "vain and preposterous", saying they do not change the fact that the state "was, is, and will" remain an integral part of India.