NEW DELHI: The government said it was important to avoid changing the status quo in border areas as India and China continue their discussions to achieve complete disconnection in all areas of friction and to ensure the full restoration of peace and tranquility along the Line of Current Control (LAC).
The seventh round of military commanders meeting, as well as the next round of the India-China Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Issues (WMCC) Chinese officials it will be scheduled “soon,” the MEA said Thursday.
LAC deadlock: full coverage
Responding to questions about the situation in eastern Ladakh between Indian and Chinese troops after the sixth round of talks between military commanders on Monday, MEA spokesman Anurag Srivastava He said the meeting took place after a 50-day gap, but resulted in the first joint statement by India and China after such discussions. He interpreted this to reflect “the stated commitment of both parties to disconnect throughout LAC.”
Noting that disengagement was a “complex” matter that would ultimately involve two armies returning to permanent positions on their own side of LAC, Srivastava said, “Even when two sides work to achieve complete disengagement in all areas of friction , is at the same time “. time also necessary to ensure stability on the ground. The last meeting of senior commanders should be seen in all this general context.
Srivastava insisted that the process had to be “reciprocal,” that the Indians would move once the Chinese did. India has said that the root of the current standoff was the unusually large build-up and accumulation of troops by the Chinese in contravention of existing agreements.
The commanders meeting broadened the disengagement discussion to “all areas of friction” apart from Pangong Tso. The Chinese side reportedly wanted to limit the discussions to the southern shore of Pangong Tso, an area where Indian troops have gained dominance over crucial ridges and heights.
At the meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Moscow, S Jaishankar it had insisted, and the point was accepted by the Chinese side, “that the two sides should continue the dialogue and disconnect quickly and widely in all areas of friction.”
On video: India-China showdown: should avoid changing LAC status quo, says MEA
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