India on Friday directly blamed China’s unilateral actions to change the state along the Royal Line of Control (ALC) for the bilateral tensions, and called on the Chinese side to deliver on its promises to abide by border agreements and resolve the border problem through conversations.
Rejecting China’s claim on Thursday that the responsibility for the nearly eight-month-long border standoff rested “entirely” with the Indian side, Foreign Ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava said the actions of Chinese troops had systematically violated the bilateral agreements to maintain peace and tranquility in the country. LACQUER.
The two sides have made no progress in withdrawing and de-escalation at friction points in LAC despite several rounds of diplomatic and military talks, including eight rounds between senior army commanders, and tens of thousands of Indian and Chinese troops have been winter entrenched in the Ladakh sector.
On Wednesday, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said that China has offered “five different explanations” for the deployment of thousands of soldiers in LAC and pushing bilateral relations to their most difficult phase. A day later, China’s Foreign Ministry said that responsibility for the situation “rests entirely with the Indian side.”
Asked about China’s accusation at the weekly press conference, Srivastava replied: “The situation that we have seen since the last six months has been the result of the actions of the Chinese side, which has sought to effect a unilateral change of status along the way. across LAC in eastern Ladakh. These actions violate bilateral agreements and protocols to guarantee peace and tranquility in LAC ”.
Noting the statement by the Chinese Foreign Ministry that it “strictly observes the agreements between the two parties and is committed to resolving the border issue through dialogue and safeguarding peace and tranquility,” Srivastava added: “We hope that the party Chinese match your behavior words. ”
The “core issues,” Srivastava said, include that both sides strictly follow the bilateral agreements on the border issue “in their entirety, including the 1993 and 1996 agreements on maintaining peace and tranquility throughout LAC.”
These agreements require that both parties do not accumulate troops in LAC, strictly abide and respect LAC, and take no unilateral action to alter LAC.
India and China have maintained communications through diplomatic and military channels, and New Delhi hopes that “further discussions will help both sides to reach an agreement on a mutually acceptable solution to ensure complete disengagement at all points of friction along LAC in the western sector and the complete restoration of peace and tranquility as soon as possible, ”said Srivastava.
When asked about China’s claim that the joint launch of a stamp marking the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations was canceled due to a lack of comment from India, Srivastava said the launch of the general celebrations had not been completed. accomplished and that there was no possibility of moving on with others. activities.
The joint release of commemorative stamps was one of the activities agreed with the Chinese side last year to mark the anniversary of diplomatic ties, but no release date has been discussed with the Chinese authorities, he said.
The tweet from the Chinese embassy spokesperson suggesting that the event was canceled due to lack of feedback from the Indian side “is in fact incorrect,” Srivastava said. “It should be noted that the 70th anniversary celebrations themselves have not yet been launched, and therefore, the issue of continuing with joint activities in their field is not raised,” he added.
Sameer Patil, international security studies researcher at Gateway House, said the accusations between India and China about the situation in LAC reflect the lack of progress in talks to push for disengagement and de-escalation.
“The main objective of the Indian side now is that the situation on the ground does not deteriorate. We do not expect a serious confrontation due to the harsh weather during the winter and the hope is that the two sides can work towards a resolution after the winter has passed, ”he said.
“The situation is complicated and both parties are not moving. Without the possibility of a resolution in the short term, probably only the main leaders of the two parties can break the ice and move things forward, “added Patil.
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