New Delhi calls on Beijing to coordinate actions to complete the process of disengaging troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) as soon as possible and restore peace in the India-China border areas, Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Anurag Srivastava said on Friday
NEW DELHI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th August, 2020) New Delhi calls on Beijing to coordinate actions to complete the process of disengaging troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) as soon as possible and restore peace in the India-China border areas, Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Anurag Srivastava said on Friday.
Earlier in August, the two countries reaffirmed their commitment to the agreements reached by Indian and Chinese special representatives during bilateral consultations on the disengagement of troops.
"While we would like the ongoing disengagement process to be completed at the earliest, it is important to bear in mind that achieving this requires agreed actions by both sides. We, therefore, expect the Chinese side to sincerely work with us towards the objective of complete disengagement and de-escalation and full restoration of peace and tranquility in the border areas as agreed by the special representatives," Srivastava said at a press conference.
According to the spokesman, to fulfill the agreements, both sides need to redeploy troops to their regular posts on the LAC, which requires coordination.
"This is also necessary and essential in the context of overall development of our bilateral relationship. As External Affairs Minister [Subrahmanyam Jaishankar] had noted in a recent interview, 'the state of the border and the future of our ties, cannot be separated,'" the diplomat added.
The absence of a marked border between China and India has been a source of tension for decades. The LAC was created after the 1962 war as a compromise.
The tensions have been recently fueled by the skirmishes between the countries' border forces starting in May. In mid-June a deadly brawl broke out between soldiers of both sides high up in the disputed Ladakh region. India said that 20 of its soldiers died in the altercation, and an undisclosed number of Chinese soldiers are believed to have died. That was the first time in nearly 60 years that border disputes between the two countries, which have effectively never been settled, have resulted in fatalities.
