India and China vow for complete disengagement on the borders
By IAR Desk
India and China have agreed to work urgently to achieve the withdrawal of thousands of troops stationed along their disputed border in a long-running standoff, the India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in a press statement.
Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar met Member of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Political Bureau and Foreign Minister, H.E. Mr. Wang Yi on 25 July 2024 in Vientiane, Lao PDR on the sidelines of the ASEAN-related Foreign Ministers’ Meetings.
Both ministers reviewed the situation since their last meeting at Astana on 4 July 2024. Their talks focussed on finding an early resolution of the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to stabilize and rebuild bilateral relations.
The statement said that “Both Ministers agreed on the need to work with purpose and urgency to achieve complete disengagement at the earliest. Peace and tranquillity on the borders and respect for LAC are essential for normalcy in bilateral relations. Both sides must fully abide by relevant bilateral agreements, protocols, and understandings reached between the two Governments in the past.”
Jaishankar stressed the importance of the three mutuals — mutual respect, mutual interest and mutual sensitivity — to our ti
The Line of Actual Control separates Chinese and Indian-held territories from Ladakh in the west to India’s eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims in its entirety.
Ties between India and China deteriorated in July 2020 after a military clash killed at least 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese.
It turned into a long-running standoff in the rugged mountainous area, where each side has stationed tens of thousands of military personnel backed by artillery, tanks and fighter jets.
Both India and China have withdrawn troops from some areas on the northern and southern banks of Pangong Tso, Gogra and Galwan Valley, but continue to maintain extra troops as part of a multitier deployment.
The two countries are scheduled to hold an early meeting of the Working Mechanism on Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) to take the discussions forward.
– With input from agencies
