Minister pins hopes on resolving border differences through diplomacy, talks
As the situation remains volatile on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) for more than three months now, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said the stand-offs in eastern Ladakh are “surely the most serious situation after 1962.”
He also said the number of troops deployed there by India and China in the aftermath of the face-offs is also “unprecedented” and pinned his hopes on resolving the differences through diplomacy.
Making these observations against the backdrop of ten rounds of talks at the diplomatic and military levels failing to defuse tension at the border, the Minister said in an interview to rediff.com that “this is surely the most serious situation after 1962. In fact, after 45 years, we have had military casualties on this border. The quantum of forces currently deployed by both sides at the LAC is also unprecedented.”
The Minister was apparently referring to the India-China war in 1962 and death of 20 Indian Army personnel in June this year in the Galwan valley in Ladakh in a bloody free for all with the Chinese. These casualties were the first in more than 40 years at the border.
Jaishankar said India has conveyed to China “clearly” that peace and tranquility in the border areas are the basis for the relationship between the two neighbours. “If we look back at the last three decades, this is quite self-evident. Indian and Chinese armies are locked in a tense stand-off in eastern Ladakh for over three-and-half-month despite multiple rounds of diplomatic and military talks,” he said.
On the efforts to bring down the temperature at the LAC, the Minister said face-offs in the past too were resolved through diplomacy be it Depsang (2013), Chumar (2014) or Doklam (2017).
“If you look back over the last decade, there have been a number of border situations — Depsang, Chumar and Doklam. In a sense, each one was different. This one surely is. But what is also common is that all border situations were resolved through diplomacy,” Jaishankar said.
Incidentally, his remarks come days after Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat said earlier this week military option was available if talks did not yield any result.
Stressing the need for disengagement at the earliest, the External Affairs Minister said a solution to the face-offs with China must be predicated on honouring all agreements and understandings without attempting to alter the status quo unilaterally. “As you know, we are talking to the Chinese both through military channels and diplomatic ones. In fact, they work in tandem,” he said.
Jaishankar also stressed that while restoring status quo, China has to honour all the pacts and not attempt to alter the situation unilaterally. India has all along maintained in the last few weeks that Chinese forces will have to return to their positions as existing on April end. The Chinese intruded into India in early May and the first face-off took place at the Pangong Tso (lake) when they obstructed an Indian Army patrol. It led to fisticuffs leaving several soldiers injured.
Meanwhile, the External Affairs Ministry on Thursday said the two countries last had diplomatic level talks under the aegis of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC). During the meeting the two sides had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on the existing situation in the India-China border areas. Both sides have reaffirmed that the two sides will continue to sincerely work towards complete disengagement of the troops along the LAC in accordance with the agreements reached between the two Foreign Ministers and the two Special Representatives (SRs) during their conversation on July 5.
The Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said complete disengagement requires re-deployment of troops by each side towards their regular posts on their respective sides of the LAC. It is natural that this can be done only through mutually agreed reciprocal actions. Thus it is important to bear in mind that achieving this requires agreed actions by both sides.
In this context, in the last meeting of the WMCC the two sides have agreed to resolve the outstanding issues in an expeditious manner and in accordance with the existing agreements and protocols.
Both sides also agree that full restoration of peace and tranquility in the border areas would be essential for the overall development of bilateral relations. The two sides had also agreed to continue their engagements both through diplomatic and military channels.
“I would also refer you to the recent interview of External Affairs Minister wherein referring to various past border incidents he had noted that what was common was that all borders situations were resolved through diplomacy. The Minister had further noted that “when it comes to finding a solution, this must be predicated on honouring all agreements and understandings. And not attempting to alter the status quo unilaterally,” Srivastava said.