External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said here India remains committed to engaging with China to arrive at a fair and mutually acceptable framework for boundary settlement.  He also said the recent developments that reflect continuous diplomatic engagements have set India-China ties in the direction of "some improvement."

His statement in Parliament came two months after India and Chinese armies disengaged from friction points in eastern Ladakh.  This process came about after nearly four years of stand-off between the soldiers of the two countries there after tension flared up in May 2020 leading to clashes in the Galwan valley.  Twenty Indian army personnel including the commanding officer were killed.  Nearly 40 Chinese soldiers were died in the clash.

On its part, Beijing had stated after disengagement that a resolution had been reached on "relevant matters" and that it would work alongside New Delhi to implement the terms of the agreement.

Jaishankar said India-China relations cannot be normal in the absence of a clearly articulated approach.  Making a statement in the Lok Sabha, the minister said India-China ties have been abnormal since 2020 when peace and tranquility in border areas were disturbed due to Chinese actions.

"The amassing of troops by China in eastern Ladakh in April-May 2020 resulted in face-offs at a number of points. After the Galwan Valley clashes, we were addressing a situation that not only saw fatalities but events that needed heavy weaponry deployment," he said.

The recent developments that reflect continuous diplomatic engagements have set India-China ties in the direction of "some improvement", he said.

"We remain committed to engaging with China to arrive at a fair and mutually acceptable framework for boundary settlement... The government has maintained that India-China relations cannot be normal in the absence of peace and tranquility in the border areas, the combination of a firm and principal stance on this situation and the border areas, as well a clearly articulated approach to the totality of our ties," Jaishankar said.

"We have been very clear that the restoration of peace and tranquility will be the basis for the rest of the relationship to move forward," he added.

Jaishankar credited the Indian forces, saying that despite logistical challenges and the Covid pandemic, they countered the Chinese troops rapidly.

He said bilateral relations between India and China were on course of some improvement after the successful disengagement along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.

"Our (India-China) ties have been abnormal since 2020 when peace and tranquility in the border areas were disturbed as a result of Chinese actions. Recent developments that reflect our continuous diplomatic engagement since then have set our ties in the direction of some improvement," he said while briefing the Lok Sabha on India-China ties and the border truce reached in October.

Jaishankar also said in the months following the 2020 Galwan Valley clash, "we were addressing a situation that had not only seen fatalities for the first time in 45 years but also a turn of events serious enough for heavy weaponry to be deployed in close proximity to the LAC".

"While a determined counter-deployment of adequate capability was the government's immediate response, there was also the imperative of a diplomatic effort to defuse these heightened tensions and restore peace and tranquility."

The Minister went on to list a series of agreements reached in the past between India and China, including those signed in 1991, 1993, 1996, 2003, 2005, 2012 and the last one in 2013 to reach an understanding on border defence cooperation.

"The purpose of my recalling these agreements is to underline the elaborate nature of our shared efforts to ensure peace and tranquillity and to emphasise the seriousness of what its unprecedented disruption in 2020 implied for our overall relationship," he said.

The current agreement pertains to patrolling in the Depsang and Demchok areas. Earlier, the militaries of the two countries had pulled back from four of six friction points in eastern Ladakh, including the Galwan Valley, after the clash.

In November, Indian and Chinese armies completed one round of patrolling in Demchok and Depsang and also agreed to carry out one coordinated patrol every week in the areas where tensions have persisted.

In an effort to maintain ongoing stability, talks will continue at the local commanders’ level, involving brigadiers and officers of similar ranks.