New Delhi / Beijing: India and China agreed to a five-point roadmap, including the withdrawal of security forces from the border “soon” to avoid a four-month-old deadlock in eastern Ladakh and avoid any action likely to escalate tensions. Both countries acknowledged that the current situation on the border was not in the interest of either party. The agreement between the two countries was reached during talks between Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Thursday evening.
Jaishankar and Wang met in Moscow on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting. This conversation lasted for two and a half hours. On Monday, the LAC faced a deadlock between the two armies amid allegations of tension in East Ladakh for four months, which the two sides accused each other of. After the latest confrontation, both sides deployed large numbers of troops and heavy arms at all the sites disputed on the LAC.
Government sources said that the five-point agreement would guide the perspective of the two countries regarding the current situation along the border. The Foreign Ministry issued a joint press release in the early hours of Friday. It said, “The two Foreign Ministers agreed that the current situation was not in anyone’s interest.” They agreed that the armies of the two countries stationed along the border should continue to negotiate, maintain a proper distance and reduce tension. ” However, the five-point agreement does not mention the timeframe for troops to retreat and restore peace and harmony.
“The two ministers agreed that the two sides would abide by all existing agreements and rules related to the Sino-India border issue, maintain peace and avoid any action that could escalate tensions,” the statement said. Jaishankar and Wang agreed in talks that as the situation on the border improves, both sides should move rapidly towards building new trust to build peace and harmony in the border areas.
Government sources said that in the talks, the Indian side raised the issue of the deployment of a large number of security forces and military equipment by China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh and expressed their concern. Sources said on Friday that the Chinese side could not provide reliable explanations for the deployment of forces.
According to sources, the Indian side emphasized that the immediate task is to ensure that all the troops from the conflict zones withdraw completely and this is necessary to prevent any untoward incident in future. Government sources said that Jaishankar told Wang that maintaining peace and harmony in the border areas is necessary for furthering the relationship. The External Affairs Minister told his Chinese counterpart that the recent events in Ladakh have affected the development of bilateral relations and immediate resolution is necessary for the interest of India and China.
According to the joint statement, Jaishankar and Wang agreed that both sides should seek guidance from the consensus reached between the leaders of the two countries to develop India-China relations, including not allowing the differences to escalate into a dispute. It is clear that this was referring to two informal summits between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping after the deadlock in Doklam in 2017.
The joint statement said that the two sides agreed to continue the dialogue and communication through the Special Representative (SR) mechanism on the India-China border matter. It said, “He also agreed in this context that the working mechanism for consultation and coordination on Indo-China border matters should continue in its meetings.” There has been a tense standoff between the Indian Army and the Chinese Army since the beginning of May at several places near LAC in eastern Ladakh. According to a press release issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing, Wang told Jaishankar that it is normal to have differences between the two countries, but it is important to understand them in the proper context and seek guidance from leaders.
“Wang said that it is normal to have differences between China and India, as these two are large neighboring countries,” the release said. It is important to understand these differences about bilateral relations in the proper context. ” He said, “India-China relations have once again come to a cross, but if both sides continue to move in the right direction, there will be no difficulty or challenge that cannot be overcome.” The two countries have had a high level dialogue for the second time in a week. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe also met in Moscow on September 4, apart from the SCO meeting. In Delhi, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and top military officials discussed a five-point agreement between India and China to ease tensions on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
Government sources said that in the meeting, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat, Army Chief General MM Naravane, Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal R. K. s. Bhadoria and Navy Chief Admiral Karmabir Singh and other officers.
Possibility of core commander-level talks between Indian and Chinese armies early next week to ease tensions in eastern Ladakh. It is also learned that Army Chief General MM Naravane discussed the overall situation in Ladakh as well as the provisions of the agreement with the top military officers at the Army Headquarters. Brigade Commander level talks were held in Chusul from eleven am to three pm on Friday with a view to reduce tension at the deadlocked locations.
