India-China border dispute: Five things agreed upon in the meeting of S Jaishankar and Foreign Minister of China

Posted on 11th Sep 2020 by rohit kumar

Five points have been agreed between the two countries to ease the ongoing tension along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China in Ladakh.

 

The decision was taken in a meeting in Moscow on Thursday between Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wong Yi.

 

India's Foreign Minister made it clear that India does not want to increase the ongoing tension on LAC and there has been no change in India's policy towards China. India also believes that there has been no change in China's policy towards India.

 

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said that as two neighboring countries it is quite natural that China and India have disagreements on some issues, but the important thing is to see those disagreements in the right perspective.

 

News agency ANI quoted the Chinese Foreign Ministry as saying, "Chinese Foreign Minister Wong Yi said that relations between China and India are once again at the crossroads. But as long as the two sides continue to push their relationship in the right direction, then Till then there will be no problem and there will be no such challenge that can not be solved. "

 

The two leaders are present to attend the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) countries in Moscow.

 

Consensus on these five points

In a statement issued after the meeting, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said that the two leaders had a positive conversation about the Indo-China border and the relationship between India and China.

 

The five issues that were agreed upon between the two are -

 

The two sides will consult the consensus reached between the leaders to increase relations between India and China. It also includes not allowing disagreements to take the form of tension.

 

Both leaders admitted that the current situation regarding the border is not in the interest of both sides. The forces on both sides should continue the dialogue, disengage as soon as possible, maintain proper distance from each other and reduce tension.

 

To maintain peace and harmony in the areas of Indo-China border and border matters, both sides will follow all existing agreements and protocols and no action should be taken to increase tension.

 

Negotiations between the two sides should be continued through a special representative mechanism on the India-China issue. At the same time, negotiations will also be continued under the working mechanism on consultation and coordination in border matters.

 

As the tension subsides, the two sides should take steps to maintain peace in the border areas.

 

Defense ministers meeting was held earlier

Last week, India's Defense Minister Rajnath Singh met the Defense Minister of China. This meeting also took place during the SCO meeting in Moscow itself.

 

There was a discussion between the two defense ministers to reduce the tension on LAC, after which it was said that soon the foreign ministers of the two countries will also meet.

 

On Thursday, at about eight o'clock Indian time, the meeting started which lasted for about three hours.

 

Military talks on LAC continue

On the one hand, where the talks between the two foreign ministers were held in Moscow, on the other hand, the military dialogue on LAC is also going on.

 

On Thursday, there was a Brigadier level conversation between the two armies.

 

Before this, several rounds of lieutenant general or corps commander level talks have been held between the two countries, but there has been no significant progress in reducing tension.

 

Accusation of each other

Both India and China are accusing each other that their soldiers crossed the LAC and took action to provoke.

 

Amidst tension on the border, the most recent case is that of a picture coming out.

 

A photo of LAC was released on Tuesday, citing high sources of the Government of India, in which around 25 Chinese soldiers are seen with sharp weapons. According to sources, the picture was taken on the evening of September 7, although the BBC cannot independently confirm it.

 

This picture is from the south of the Indian post called Mukhapri located in eastern Ladakh. This photo was taken from a distance of 800 meters. According to Indian government sources, the place where these Chinese soldiers are standing is part of their Line of Actual Control (LAC).

 

India says that Chinese soldiers were trying to get close to the Indian Post, who were warned on behalf of India. Firing was also threatened by India but the firing was not done because by then the Chinese army stopped its steps.

 

On Tuesday itself, China's Foreign Ministry and the Western Command of the Chinese Army accused India of firing and crossing the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

 

A Chinese spokesman had alleged that Indian troops violated the LAC in the Shenpao mountainous area on the south bank of Lake Pangong Tso and opened fire towards the Chinese patrol.

 

In response to which the Indian Army issued a statement saying, "The Indian Army has never crossed the LAC nor shown any aggressive attitude, including firing." India has accused China of violating the agreements and adopting an aggressive attitude.

 

Allegations of inflammatory acts on 29-30 August

 

According to India, on the night of 29 and 30 August, China tried to break the status quo by provoking military action in the south coast area of ​​Pangong Tso Lake and on the next day also took such action which was thwarted.

 

The Indian Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that as the Indian Army had reported a day earlier, the Indian side responded to these provocative activities and took appropriate defensive action on the LAC to protect its interests and territorial integrity.

 

Foreign Ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava said in this statement, "Even on August 31, while the group commanders of the two sides were meeting to ease tensions, Chinese troops once again resorted to provocative action. India's timely defense Because of taking action, these unilateral attempts to change the status quo were thwarted. "

 

The spokesman said that China's action and its behavior since the beginning of this year is a violation of bilateral agreements and protocols to maintain peace and tranquility on the border between the two countries. These actions are also completely disrespectful to the mutual understanding between the Foreign Ministers and Special Representatives of the two countries.

 

Violent clashes on 15–16 June

 

There has been tension in the Galvan valley since April. Some defense experts in India say that since April and especially from the first week of May, Chinese soldiers have entered the areas of LAC which India has been accepting.

 

But India's military and political leadership has been rejecting these allegations.

 

India says that in the middle of May, China tried to violate the LAC in the western sector along the border, to which they were given a fair response. After this, to reduce the tension on the border, both sides also talked at the military level and diplomatic level, and on 6 June 2020 a meeting of senior commanders was held.

 

India claims that the two sides agreed to honor the LAC, and there was also a general opinion that no steps would be taken to change the situation.

 

But China could not honor this agreement on the Galvan Valley area and started construction work very close to LAC. When he was prevented from doing so, he took violent steps on 15 June, in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed.

 

China blamed India for this.

 

China said that on the night of June 15, the Indian troops on the border crossed the LAC once again in violation of the agreement reached at the commander level meeting. When tensions in the Galvan valley were waning, they deliberately acted as provocation.

 

The Chinese soldiers and officers who went to them for talks, they violently attacked them, which caused fierce violence and people were killed.