India, China agree to ease LAC standoff

| | New Delhi
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India, China agree to ease LAC standoff

Thursday, 02 July 2020 | PNS | New Delhi

India, China agree to ease LAC standoff

Rajnath Singh to visit Ladakh today to review ground situation

The third round military-level  talks between India and China to resolve the stand-off at various places along the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh,  saw the  two sides resolving to “sincerely” implement the disengagement understanding reached in the first corps commander-level talks on June 6.

The Chinese establishment mouthpiece Global Times has painted a far more agreeable outcome of the parleys. In Beijing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry on the third round of talks said the two sides continue working towards implementing the consensus reached at the two earlier rounds of commander-level talks and made progress in effective measures by frontline troops to disengage and deescalate the situation. China welcomes that.

“We hope the Indian side will work with the Chinese side towards the same goal, keep up close communication through military and diplomatic channels, and ease the situation and reduce the temperature along the border,” it said.

India sources said India and China have stressed the need for an “expeditious” de-escalation as a “priority and the coming days could see more meetings on the military and diplomatic level to restore peace on the border. These agreements were arrived at in the latest round of Corps Commander level meeting on Tuesday in Chushul, Ladakh between Lt General Harinder Singh and Major General Liu Lin, sources said here on Wednesday.  The talks lasted for more than ten hours and ended late in the evening, they added.

In a related development, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will visit Ladakh on Friday to review the situation on the ground.  He will be briefed by senior commanders of the Northern Command and is expected to visit some forward areas.  He will also interact with some of the soldiers who were injured in the bloody brawl on June 15 and now recuperating at the military hospital in Leh.

It will be Rajnath’s first visit to Ladakh since the face-off began in early May.  The proposed tour also comes at a time when the two sides are bolstering their troop strength besides heavy weaponry on the LAC as the repeated rounds of talks, so far, have not yielded the desired result.

Though the latest talks also remained inconclusive, officials said ‘’Both sides have emphasised the need for an expeditious, phased and step wise de-escalation as a priority.’’ This, the sources said, is in sync with the agreement between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in their telephonic talks on June 17 that the overall situation would be handled in a responsible manner.

Also, the process of disengagement along the LAC is “complex”, and in such a context, speculative and unsubstantiated reports need to be avoided, sources said.

They said the discussions reflected the commitment of the two sides to reduce tensions along the LAC and more meetings are expected, both at military and diplomatic levels, to arrive at a “mutually agreeable solution”.

At Tuesday’s dialogue, the two sides also resolved to sincerely implement the disengagement understanding reached in the first corps commander-level talks on June 6, they said.

 “The meeting on Tuesday was long and held in a businesslike manner keeping in view the COVID-19 protocols. The discussions reflected the commitment of both sides to reduce the tensions along the LAC,” the source said.

Meanwhile, reports coming from China also said the two countries have agreed to disengage front-line border troops in batches and take effective measures to ease the situation in the border areas.

A source close to Chinese border troops also told the Global Times on Wednesday, the two Corps Commanders had a frank and in-depth exchange of views, discussed effective ways to resolve current differences in border control, and studied concrete measures to enhance mutual trust and maintain stability.

The two sides have agreed to disengage front-line troops in batches and take effective measures to ease the situation in the border areas. The source said that the military commander-level’s meeting showed the two sides’ willingness to ease tensions on the border, and avoid further escalating the situation.

The two sides should make use of the existing border talk mechanism, abide by agreements, respect historical facts, accommodate each other’s core concerns, and push for the implementation of the consensus reached through negotiations, the source said.

What is urgent now is that India should meet China halfway, strictly restrain the actions of front-line troops, refrain from taking radical moves and risks, and jointly safeguard peace and tranquility in the China-India border areas, the source stressed.

 This was the third round of talks between the two Corps Commanders since June 6.  In the previous two rounds of talks, the Indian side demanded immediate withdrawal of Chinese troops from various areas in the region and restoration of status quo ante prior to May 5.

In the talks on June 22, the two sides arrived at a “mutual consensus” to “disengage” from all the friction points in eastern Ladakh. The first round of talks on June 6 saw both sides finalizing an agreement to disengage gradually from all the standoff points beginning with Galwan Valley.

However, the situation deteriorated following the Galwan Valley clashes on June 15 killing 20 Indian Army personnel and the two sides significantly enhancing their deployments in most areas along the LAC.

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