Talks likely today to break logjam, and pave way for another round of Corps Commander-level parleys
India on Thursday categorically asked China to “sincerely” work for complete disengagement and de-escalation on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh.
Officials of the two Foreign Ministries under the aegis of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Co-ordination on India-China border Affairs (WMCC) are likely to hold talks on Friday to break the logjam and pave the way for another round of Corps Commander-level parleys.
India’s latest assertion came against the backdrop of the Chinese troops not honouring the agreements arrived at in the last round of talks between the two Commanders to withdraw additional troops from the front and “depth” areas.
China is yet to start the process to pull back its 40,000 troops leading to heightened tension on the LAC and India also forced ramp up its troop strength. Moreover, the Chinese side has also not removed its heavy guns and weapons as agreed upon, sources said.
This pact to thin out troops was projected as a major confidence building measure but the Chinese not withdrawing has raised alarm bells in the Indian security establishment, they said.
Given this actual scenario, the Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday said in order to bring restore normalcy, respecting and strictly abiding by the LAC is the basis of peace and tranquility in the border areas. Several agreements concluded by India and China since 1993 firmly acknowledge this, Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said.
Reiterating the point that China triggered the eight-week old stand offs, he said, “In my statement of June 26, I had noted that the conduct of Chinese forces this year, including the deployment of large body of troops and changes in behaviour, accompanied by unjustified and untenable claims, has been in complete disregard of all the mutual agreements.
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India asks China to walk the talk on LAC disengagement
“We have also made it clear that India is fully committed to observing and respecting the LAC and that we will not accept any unilateral attempts to change the status quo along the LAC.”
Referring to important talks between National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on July 5, he said both the sides then agreed to work towards complete disengagement of the troops along the LAC and de-escalation from India-China border areas for full restoration of peace and tranquility.
Doval and Wang Yi are Special Representatives of their respective countries to address the boundary issue.
Stressing that both the countries are keen to resolve the matter through dialogue, Srivastava said the fourth round of the meeting of the Senior Commanders was held on July 14, where they also discussed further steps to ensure complete disengagement. In this context, another meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) is also expected to be scheduled soon, he added.
“As we have stated earlier, the maintenance of peace and tranquility in the border areas is the basis of our bilateral relationship. Therefore, it is our expectation that the Chinese side will sincerely work with us for complete disengagement and de-escalation and full restoration of peace in the border areas at the earliest as agreed to by the Special Representatives,” he said.