External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting in Tajikistan’s Dushanbe on Wednesday.
The discussions focused on resolving the outstanding issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Western Sector.
During the meet, Jaishankar told Yi that any unilateral change of the status quo along the LAC is unacceptable to India.
China, India agree to hold an early meeting of the senior military commanders
Calling for full restoration and maintenance of peace and tranquillity in border areas, the EAM said it was essential to develop Sino-India ties.
The two sides also agreed on convening an early meeting of the senior military commanders.
Issuing a statement on the meeting, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that Jaishankar and Yi had a detailed exchange of views on the current situation along the LAC in eastern Ladakh and also on other issues related to the overall India-China relations.
The EAM also pointed out to the State Councillor that disengagement in the Pangong Lake area earlier this year created conditions for resolving remaining issues.
“It was expected that China would work with us towards this objective but the situation in the remaining areas is still unresolved,” the MEA said.
‘In mutual interest to work towards early resolution of remaining issues’
Jaishankar also emphasized that it was in mutual interest that the two sides work towards early resolution of the remaining issues along the LAC while fully abiding by bilateral agreements and protocols.
“EAM recalled that both sides had agreed that a prolongation of the existing situation was not in the interest of either side. It was visibly impacting the relationship in a negative manner,” the MEA added.
The last meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) was held on June 25 after a gap of over three months. At the meeting, the two sides agreed to maintain “stability on the ground and prevent any untoward incident” in the border area in eastern Ladakh.
No breakthrough despite several rounds of talks
Despite holding several rounds of talks between Beijing and New Delhi, no breakthrough has been achieved.
With China ramping up infrastructure and building permanent structures along the LAC in eastern Ladakh, India has responded by increasing troops and deploying T-90 and T-72 tanks in the Chumar-Demchok area.
India now has around 2,00,000 troops at the China border, a jump of more than 40 per cent from 2020 when tensions between the two sides escalated.
While China has defended the build-up calling it “a normal defence arrangement” to prevent any encroachment and threats on China’s territory, India has maintained that any attempt to alter the status quo along the LAC unilaterally is unacceptable.
