Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Moscow on Thursday.
New Delhi:
India highlighted its “great concern about the concentration of Chinese troops with equipment along the Royal Line of Control (LAC)”, the de facto border between the two countries, at the meeting between Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Moscow. Thursday night, sources have said. “The provocative behavior of front-line Chinese troops in numerous friction incidents throughout LAC also showed disregard for bilateral agreements and protocols,” Beijing was told.
“The presence of such a large concentration of troops was not in accordance with the 1993 and 1996 agreements and created hotspots throughout LAC. The Chinese side has not provided a credible explanation for this deployment,” said the Ministry of Relations. Foreign to China in the meeting that lasted almost two hours, adding that “the Indian troops scrupulously followed all the agreements and protocols.”
The immediate task, “to prevent any adverse incidents in the future,” is to “ensure a complete withdrawal of troops in all areas of friction,” India told China, the sources said, as New Delhi stressed that an “urgent resolution of the current situation was of interest to both nations. “
The two countries, at the meeting, agreed on a five-point plan to resolve the protracted border confrontation in eastern Ladakh that included abiding by all existing agreements and protocols on border management, maintaining peace and tranquility, and avoiding any action that could aggravate things.
India-China relations have developed a largely positive trajectory since the “resumption of relations at the ambassador level in 1976 and the holding of boundary talks since 1981,” the Foreign Ministry stressed at the meeting, officials said. . While India recognized that “a solution to the border issue required time and effort”, it also clarified that “maintaining peace and tranquility in border areas was essential for the development of ties.”
“However, the recent incidents in eastern Ladakh inevitably affected the development of the bilateral relationship,” Beijing was told.
The Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have been locked in a clash across LAC in eastern Ladakh since early May.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MEA) issued a joint press release on Friday morning with five points that were agreed by both sides in the “frank and constructive” discussions of the two ministers.
The two foreign ministers agreed that the current situation in the border areas does not benefit either party. They agreed, therefore, that the border troops of both sides should continue their dialogue, disconnect quickly, maintain the appropriate distance and ease tensions, “it said.
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