New Delhi: The twin considerations of “an unstable local situation and an impacted bilateral relationship” were the drivers of India’s border talks with China, which culminated in the October 21 agreement with Beijing on disengagement, which has been fully achieved, and the next priority is to consider de-escalation to address the massing of troops along the LAC, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told the Rajya Sabha today.
He said that the Modi government has been and remains “very clear that the three key principles must be observed under all circumstances: (i) both sides should strictly respect and observe the LAC, (ii) neither side should attempt to unilaterally alter the status quo, and (iii) agreements and understandings reached in the past must be fully abided by in their entirety.”
In an identical statement as made in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, EAM Jaishankar informed the Rajya Sabha MPs about the October 21 agreement reached “regarding Depsang and Demchok”.
He said: “The twin considerations of an unstable local situation and an impacted bilateral relationship were clearly the drivers of the most recent endeavors. These two areas have been the focus of our discussions in both Working Mechanism for Cooperation and Coordination (WMCC) at the diplomatic level and Senior Highest Military Commanders meeting (SHMC) mechanism with the Chinese side since September 2022, when the last disengagement agreement was concluded at Hot Springs.”
EAM said that in the lead up to the October 21 agreement, he had discussed both the specific disengagement issue as well as the larger relationship with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Astana on 4 July and Vientiane on 25 July. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his Chinese counterpart also met in St. Petersburg on 12 September.
“The problem in these two areas pertained primarily to obstructions of our long-standing patrolling activity. In Demchok, there was also the question of access by our nomadic population to traditional grazing grounds, as well as to sites of significance to the local people.”
Following the October 21 agreement, arrived at after intensive negotiations, “resumption of patrolling to the traditional areas is underway. It was initially tested by sending out patrols for verification of disengagement on the ground and is now being followed up by regular activities as per the agreed understanding”, he said.
PM Modi met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on October 23 in Kazan on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan and both welcomed the understanding and directed the Foreign Ministers to meet and stabilize and rebuild bilateral relations. “The Special Representatives are also to oversee the management of peace and tranquility besides exploring a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution to the boundary question.”
EAM then held discussions with FM Wang Yi again on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro on November 18.
Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh also met the Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun at the ASEAN Defence Ministers (ADMM+) meeting in Vientiane on November 20. “The two Ministers discussed progress on the recent agreement on disengagement, the need to address de-escalation along the LAC and the requirement of strengthening confidence building measures. They agreed on the importance of continuing meetings and consultations at various levels.”
“Where the October 21 understanding is concerned, our objective has been to ensure patrolling as in the past to the relevant patrolling points, as well as resumption of grazing by our civilians as per longstanding practice. This is indeed what we have agreed upon in regard to Depsang and Demchok.”
“In a few other places where friction occurred in 2020, steps of a temporary and limited nature were worked out, based on local conditions, to obviate the possibility of further friction. This, I must stress, applies to both sides and can be revisited as the situation demands. In that sense, our stance has been resolute and firm and serves our national security fully,” he added.
Elaborating on India’s expectation regarding the direction of ties with China in the near future, he said: “Our relationship had progressed in many domains, but was obviously negatively affected by recent events. We are clear that the maintenance of peace and tranquility in border areas is a pre-requisite for the development of our ties. In the coming days, we will be discussing both de-escalation as well as effective management of our activities in the border areas.
“The conclusion of the disengagement phase now allows us to consider other aspects of our bilateral engagement in a calibrated manner, keeping our national security interests first and foremost. In my recent meeting with FM Wang Yi, we reached an understanding that the Special Representatives and the Foreign Secretary level mechanisms will be convening soon.”
UNI
