New Delhi: India and China have agreed to “redouble” their efforts and work with “urgency” to resolve the ongoing standoff between them in eastern Ladakh by disengaging their troops from the conflicting areas. The affirmation comes after National Security Adviser Ajit Doval held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Russia today.
During the meeting, Doval informed Wang that maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas and respecting the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is crucial for restoring normalcy in bilateral relations, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
The Doval-Wang meeting occurred in a Russian city on the sidelines of a BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) national security advisors’ conclave. According to the MEA, the meeting offered an opportunity to review recent efforts aimed at resolving the outstanding issues.
“The meeting gave the two sides an opportunity to review the recent efforts towards finding an early resolution of the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control, which will create conditions to stabilise and rebuild bilateral relations,” the MEA said.
The ministry added that both sides need to work urgently and “redouble their efforts” to achieve complete withdrawal in the remaining areas of Ladakh, it added.
“The NSA conveyed that peace and tranquillity in border areas and respect for LAC are essential for normalcy in bilateral relations. Both sides must fully abide by relevant bilateral agreements, protocols, and understandings reached in the past by the two governments,” it added.
The MEA stated that both sides agreed the India-China bilateral relationship holds importance not only for the two countries but also for the region and the world.
India-China border standoff
The Doval-Wang meeting took place two weeks after India and China held diplomatic discussions, during which both sides agreed to intensify communication through diplomatic and military channels to resolve the outstanding issues.
Since May 2020, the Indian and Chinese militaries have been engaged in a standoff, with a full resolution of the border dispute still pending, despite disengagement from several friction points. Relations between the two countries deteriorated sharply following the violent clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020, marking the most serious military confrontation between them in decades.
India has consistently maintained that normal relations with China are not possible without peace in the border areas. So far, both nations have conducted 21 rounds of Corps Commander-level talks to address the standoff.
