New Delhi: With the military standoff in eastern Ladakh running into the eighth month, India reiterated on Thursday that the “core problem” with China remained that troops should not be accumulated in the Royal Line of Action (LAC), nor should they be take unilateral measures to alter the situation in violation of bilateral treaties.
In a weekly online press conference, MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said: “I want to emphasize that the core issue remains that both parties must strictly follow the various bilateral agreements and protocols in their entirety, including the 1993 agreement and 1996 on the maintenance of peace and tranquility throughout LAC in border areas that require that there be no concentration of troops, each side must strictly abide and respect LAC and must not take any unilateral action to alter it.
His comments were part of a response to a question on the annual report of the United States Economic and Security Review Commission, which claimed that the Chinese government had planned the violent clash in the Galwan Valley on June 15 that left 20 soldiers behind. dead Indians. China has not publicly disclosed the casualties suffered by Chinese troops.
The confrontation had started in early May when Indian soldiers detected that the presence of Chinese soldiers was more advanced in Indian territory than their usual position in LAC.
“This year, it sparked the first deadly confrontation on the China-India border in nearly half a century. China’s growing aggression has not gone unnoticed, ”the report said.
When asked to comment on the congressional report, Srivastava referred to the MEA reading of the phone call between Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, immediately after the incident.
In the June 17 statement, India had said that the Chinese had taken “premeditated and planned actions that were directly responsible for the violence and the resulting victims.”
Speaking about the next round of military talks, he noted that both parties continued to maintain communication through diplomatic and military channels “with the aim of ensuring total disconnection at all points of friction throughout LAC in the western sector and the full restoration of peace and tranquility. ” .
“Both sides agreed to have another round of senior commanders meeting at the appropriate time. As we have more information, we will share it with you, “he added.
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