India has asserted that the “situation’’ on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) for the past “four months is a direct result of the actions taken by the Chinese side that sought to effect unilateral change of status quo’’.
The way ahead is negotiations, the ministry of external affairs said on Thursday.
“These actions resulted in violation of the bilateral agreements and protocol which ensured peace and tranquility in the border areas for close to three decades,’’ said MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava at the weekly virtual briefing. The commanders on the ground are still “holding discussions’’ to resolve the situation, he added.
India has reiterated the “consensus’’ reached between the two foreign ministers and special representatives that “the situation in the border” should be handled in a “responsible manner and either side should not take any provocative action or escalate matters’’, the MEA said. India also “strongly’’ urged China to “sincerely’’ engage with India to “expeditiously’’ restore peace and tranquility on the border “through complete disengagement and de-escalation’’ as agreed, Srivastava added.
China, however, has continued to stick to its propaganda and tried to blame India for the recent incident. One thing is clear, India might have not shut its doors to diplomacy, but there are other options being explored.
The possible meeting of the Quad (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) is on the cards. While Srivastava was not forthcoming on whether it would be in-person or virtual, and the date, he did confirm that the grouping will meet soon. The 2+2 dialogue with America too will also take place soon. The intention is “in person.’’ With America pushing for a stronger, and even militarised Quad and rumours that India will invite Australia to the Malabar exercise, this is a possible way India hopes to put pressure on China.
On Monday, US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun said about the Quad: “As India has grown and its interests have grown, New Delhi recognizes that it cannot be a passive player in how that develops throughout the Indo-Pacific.’’
“Our strategy is to push back against China in virtually every domain,’’ said Biegun. “We’re doing it in the security area. We’re doing it in terms of outsized demands to claim sovereign territory, whether it’s in the Galwan Valley of India on the India-Chinese border, or whether it’s in the South Pacific. We’re also doing it economically,’’ he said, signalling American support for India.
He also referred to a “willingness’’ by India to break out of neutrality as well as "well-informed caution to extend its interests in the world,'' suggesting that India might be willing to take a stronger position on China, especially with the Quad. It helps that Japan, Australia and America, too have chosen to take harsher positions against China. India has already backed out of the joint military exercise of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation because of Pakistan and China.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is in Moscow to attend the SCO meeting and will be joined by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. The MEA, so far, has not ruled out a meeting on the sidelines with their Chinese counterparts, confirming only a bilateral meeting with host country Russia. No other engagement has been fixed so far.
India also continues to push back economically. The ban of 118 Chinese apps on Wednesday is also part of the China strategy. “Activities of these apps were prejudicial to the security of India,’’ said Srivastava.
