No change in India's position on LAC: MEA

The mutual re-deployment should not be misrepresented, says Anurag Srivastava

ladakh-india-china-border-reuters [File] Indian army trucks move along a highway leading to Ladakh, at Gagangeer in Kashmir's Ganderbal district | Reuters

It will be an “ongoing’’ season of disengagement. The ministry of external affairs described the process of disengagement along the LAC as “complex’’, but reiterated that both India and China remain committed to the objective of “complete disengagement and full restoration of peace and tranquility’’ in the border areas.

“This mutual redeployment should not be misrepresented,’’ said MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava at the weekly virtual briefing. “There is absolutely no change with respect to India’s position on the Line of Actual Control (LAC).’’

The redeployment was based on an understanding between senior military commanders. On Wednesday, there was a marathon military-level talks between both sides that lasted 14 hours. This was the fourth meeting between the Corps Commanders.

“Both sides have agreed at specific points to redeploy towards their regular posts on their respective sides of the LAC. These are mutually agreed reciprocal actions to be taken by both sides. And as I have already conveyed, it is an ongoing process,’’ asserted Srivastava.

The disengagement process was “specifically aimed’’ at “addressing face-off situations’’ and “close-up deployments of troops’’ along the LAC. India and China have pressed into place different border mechanisms both in military and diplomatic levels to reduce tensions. 

Referring to the meeting, Srivastava said: “The Commanders reviewed the progress of implementation of the ongoing disengagement process and also discussed further steps to ensure complete disengagement at the earliest.’’

On July 5, the Special Representatives of India and China—NSA Ajit Doval and Wang Yi, State Councillor and Minister of Foreign Affairs of China—had a telephone conversation. A meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) was also held on July 10. On the same day, the Chinese Ambassador to India, Sun Weidong, issued an over 18 minute video choosing to focus on peace rather than confrontation.

This is the first clear signal—beyond the de-escalation on the border—that there will be a lowering of tensions. Referring to the violence at the Galwan Border, he had said  “some quarters in India’’ had the “wrong perception of the direction of China-India relations.”

“These have brought disruptions to the bilateral relationship…. China and India should be partners, rather than rivals,'' Weidong had said.

This disengagement comes at the same time India is fighting another border perception. China is building a hydel project in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). India has lodged a protest with China, Srivastava said.