MEA: India, China to resolve issues ‘expeditiously’

NEW DELHI: The foreign ministry on Thursday said India and China had agreed “to resolve outstanding issues in an expeditious manner and in accordance with existing agreements and protocols”. This was a reiteration of the understanding arrived at the most recent meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) held between the two countries last week.
Answering questions on the current state of play in eastern Ladakh, MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said, “Complete disengagement requires re-deployment of troops by each side towards their regular posts on their respective sides of the LAC. It is natural that this can be done only through mutually agreed reciprocal actions. Thus, it is important to bear in mind that achieving this requires agreed actions by both sides.”
India has been insisting that unilateral change of position on the ground was unacceptable. India has also held the entire relationship with China contingent to peace and tranquillity on the LAC. China wants to “reserve differences”, as its ambassador said here this week, looking at the LAC crisis as a “brief moment”. That is not how India sees it.
“Both sides also agree that full restoration of peace and tranquillity in the border areas would be essential for overall development of bilateral relations,” Srivastava said.
The spokesperson added that foreign minister S Jaishankar has been invited to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation foreign ministers’ meeting in Moscow on September 10, but that no decision had been taken.
If Jaishankar does go, it would be his first meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and the first chance for the two countries to talk candidly and face-to-face. The two men had a tough conversation the morning after the Galwan Valley clashes. Russia also persuaded India to participate with China at a virtual meeting of Russia-India-China foreign ministers. But a face-to-face meeting would have a different resonance.
Recalling the recent WMCC meeting, Srivastava said, “The two sides had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on the existing situation in the India-China border areas.”