LAC Disengagement On Focus as S Jaishankar to Meet Chinese Counterpart in Dushanbe

External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar (File photo: TIH)

Dushanbe, Tajikistan: India and China have decided to re-convene their military and diplomatic officials to resume negotiations on the outstanding problems in the protracted military stalemate along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

This was resolved on Thursday in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, when External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit.

According to a statement released by the external affairs ministry on Friday, Jaishankar recalled that Wang had said at their last meeting on the sidelines of a meeting of SCO foreign ministers on July 14 that India-China relations were "at a low ebb," and that both sides had agreed that "prolonging the current situation was not in the interest of either side as it was impacting the relationship I

According to the statement, Jaishankar "emphasised that the two parties should endeavour to resolve the outstanding concerns along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh as soon as possible while completely following by bilateral agreements and norms."

“It was important to guarantee progress in the resolution of remaining concerns in order to restore peace and tranquillity along the LAC,” the minister said. “In this respect, the ministers agreed that military and diplomatic personnel from both sides should meet again and continue their negotiations as soon as possible,” the statement continued.

In February, India and China withdrew their frontline soldiers and armoured units from the north and south banks of Pangong Lake after numerous rounds of military and diplomatic discussions. The two sides stopped advance deployments at Gogra in August, dismantling all temporary buildings and other equipment.

On both sides, the withdrawal at Gogra entailed a lesser number of troops.

On the LAC, however, numerous friction areas persist, including Hot Spring and Depsang. As part of the stalemate that began in May of last year, both sides have tens of thousands of troops positioned on the LAC.

The two ministers also discussed current world events, with Jaishankar claiming that India "had never adhered to any clash of civilisations idea." He stated that India and China "ought to deal with one other on merits and develop a mutual respect relationship."