India said on Thursday that some progress has been made in the disengagement of troops along the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh but it has not yet been completed and noted that it expected that the Chinese side will sincerely work for complete disengagement and de-escalation and full restoration of peace and tranquillity in the border areas at the earliest.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said at the regular media briefing that the two sides held the 17th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination last week and reviewed the situation in the India-China border areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Western sector. He said they agreed that early and complete disengagement of the troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and deescalation from India-China border areas in accordance with bilateral agreement and protocols and full restoration of peace and tranquillity was essential for the smooth overall development of bilateral relations.
This was also the agreement reached between the two Special Representatives, NSA and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in their conversation on July 5, Srivastava said.
“There has been some progress made towards this objective but the disengagement process has as yet not been completed. The Senior Commanders of the two sides will be meeting in the near future to work out steps in this regard,” he said.
Srivastava said India has stated earlier that the maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the border areas is the basis of our bilateral relationship.
“Therefore, we expect that the Chinese side will sincerely work with us for complete disengagement and de-escalation and full restoration of peace and tranquillity in the border areas at the earliest as agreed to by the Special Representatives.,” he said.
Meanwhile, Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Weidong on Thursday said that border troops have disengaged in “most localities” along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the situation on the ground is de-escalating and the “temperature is coming down”.
Speaking at a webinar on ‘India-China relations: The way forward’, he said that the violent face-off in Galwan Valley in Eastern Ladakh last month was an “unfortunate incident” and neither side wants to see it happen again. “The Galwan incident was an unfortunate incident and neither side wants to see it happen again. Post the incident the two sides have held four rounds of Corps Commander-level talks and three meetings under the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on China-India Border Affairs (WMCC),” Sun said.
“The border troops have disengaged in most localities. The situation on the ground is de-escalating and the temperature is coming down,” he added. Sun said the two sides have differences and they have always been seeking a solution through dialogue and consultation. He also said that India-China relations have never stopped moving forward.
“China and India have deepened exchanges and cooperation in various fields. Our coordination in international and regional affairs has been continuously enhanced. Though there are existing differences between us, the two sides have always been seeking solutions through dialogue and consultation. India-China relations have never stopped moving forward,” Sun said. He said that with friendly cooperation and handling the differences “through dialogue and consultation,” India and China will push forward a “sound development of our bilateral relations”.
With ANI inputs