India-China border issue: De-escalation process very much a work in progress, says EAM S Jaishankar

India-China border news: EAM S Jaishankar said: “Disengagement and de-escalation process has been agreed and it has just commenced.” (File Image)

India-China border issue: Commenting on the ongoing tension at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar on Saturday said that the process of de-escalation is going on and the two countries have agreed to disengage as the troops are deployed in close proximity to each other on the LAC, reported ANI.

As per the report, Jaishankar said: “We have agreed on the need to disengage because troops are deployed very close to each other. Disengagement and de-escalation process has been agreed and it has just commenced.”

Jaishankar further added that it was very much “a work in progress.”

The External Affairs Minister while addressing India Global Week 2020 via video-conferencing, also reflected on how the coronavirus pandemic has affected countries around the world. ANI quoted him saying, “A lot of trends that we saw before Coronavirus, they could accelerate in the post COVID world. Even in response, in six months, for example, we have seen a lot of countries behaving more nationalistically.”

Reflecting on how the COVID-19 pandemic could affect the future of international relations between the countries, he stated: “I see a world where arguments will sharpen. I think there will be issues of trust which has been raised. There will be questions on resilient supply chains. It is going to be a more difficult world.”

The Indian and Chinese troops have been locked in a standoff at multiple locations in the eastern Ladakh region for almost eight weeks now. The tension between the two armies peaked after clashes in the Galwan Valley on June 15 in which 20 Indian Army personnel were killed.

Multiple rounds of diplomatic and military talks have taken place between the two sides in the last few weeks to ease the tension prevalent in the region.

After talks on Friday, PTI reported that India and China have decided in favour of “complete disengagement” of troops in eastern Ladakh in order to restore peace and tranquility along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).