New Delhi seeks complete disengagement; 4th Brigadier-level parley inconclusive
As situation remains tense after repeated intrusion attempts by China at the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh, New Delhi on Thursday blamed Beijing for violation of bilateral agreements and called for speedy disengagement from the flashpoints at the LAC. Given the surcharged atmosphere, Army and IAF chiefs on Thursday visited border areas of Ladakh to review operational readiness.
Making India’s stand clear, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said, “It is clear that the situation we witness over the past four months is a direct result of the actions taken by the Chinese side that sought to effect unilateral change of status quo. These actions resulted in violation of the bilateral agreements and protocol which ensured peace and tranquility in the border areas for close to three decades.”
The fourth round of Brigadier-level talks between the two countries remained inconclusive. They will meet again on Friday to resolve the latest issue.
Reacting to the developments in the last four days when the Chinese troops tried to provoke India, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat said, “Of late we have been seeing some aggressive actions by China but we are capable of handling these. Our tri-services are capable of dealing with threats along our frontiers.”
He, however, underlined that India wants peace and tranquility across our borders.
His comments come days after the CDS said military option could be exercised if talks at all levels fail to resolve the more than four-month long stand-offs at the LAC in eastern Ladakh.
Army chief General MM Naravane’s two-day visit beginning Thursday comes four days after the Indian Army foiled a major bid by 300 Chinese troops to intrude into the southern bank of the Pangong Tso (lake). The Indian action on the intervening night of August 29 and 30 resulted after timely intelligence tip-off about the movement of the Chinese troops and tanks at night.
In a swift move, the Indian troops, including commandos of the covert Special Frontier Force (SFF), thwarted the attempt and occupied strategic heights like the “Black Top” and “Helmet Top”.
Naravane visited some key sensitive positions in forward areas of Ladakh to gain first-hand knowledge of the ground situation. He was also briefed about all the aspects of the current issues by local commanders, sources said. Further review meetings are scheduled for Friday regarding status of operational readiness.
Since the Indian armed forces are alert on the entire 4,000 km LAC from Ladakh in the west to Arunachal Pradesh in the east, IAF chief RKS Bhadauria discussed the entire gamut of preparations during his one-day visit to the Eastern Command in Shillong. He also visited some forward airbases where the frontline fighter jets are now deployed for the last three months since the stand-offs started. In June, Bhadauria made a quiet visit to Ladakh and Srinagar airbases to review the IAF’s overall preparedness.
Meanwhile, highlighting that New Delhi wants to resolve the issue through dialogue, the MEA Spokesperson said, “The ground commanders are still holding discussions to resolve the situation. We reiterate the consensus reached between the two Foreign Ministers and Special Representatives that the situation in the border should be handled in a responsible manner and either side should not take any provocative action or escalate matters.”
As regards the developments post the attempt by the Chinese troops to unilaterally change the status quo in the South Bank of Pangong Lake on the night of August 29 and early morning on August 30, Srivastava said the Government’s stand was clearly articulated in the statement made on September 1.
“I am not going to go over the Chinese actions that caused the recent escalation,” he added.
On Tuesday, the Spokesperson had said the Chinese side engaged in “provocative” military maneuvers in the late night of August 29 and 30 in an attempt to change the status quo in the South Bank area of Pangong Lake. The Indian side responded to these provocative actions and took appropriate defensive steps along the LAC in order to safeguard our interests and defend the territorial integrity.
On Thursday, he said now the way ahead is negotiations, both through the diplomatic and military channels. The Indian side is firmly committed to resolving all outstanding issues through peaceful talks.
“We, therefore, strongly urge the Chinese side to sincerely engage the Indian side with the objective of expeditiously restoring the peace and tranquility in the border areas through complete disengagement and de-escalation in accordance with the bilateral agreements and protocols,” he said.
These assertions came as China has in the last four days blamed the Indian forces for breaching the LAC and occupying several hill tops. India has maintained the actions on August 29-30 were carried out to defend its interests within its own side of the LAC.