Tribune News Service
New Delhi, May 24
The foreign offices of India and China have so far sought to underplay recent disagreements between their border troops at several places along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
A 90-minute press conference by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday covered a number of topics, but did not touch the LAC question which has been dominating the Indian social media and TV channels.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) here issued two statements on the incidents in one week — on May 14 and 21 — which is unusual. While expressing resolve to stand its ground and blaming Chinese troops for obstructing usual Indian patrols, the statements expressed hope in the existing mechanisms for sorting out troops disagreements.
At his press conference, Wang had two options if had wanted to flag the LAC flashpoints. He could have made a suo motu statement, as he did on Hong Kong for instance or, the Chinese Foreign Office could have sounded out a resident Indian mediaperson to query a Wang about the tensions on the border. "That Wang chose neither option suggests that either the incidents are not grave enough in Beijing's security calculus or it is occupied with other pressing matters," said a China watcher.
The MEA too has declined to be drawn in over reports that have given varying accounts of the incursions. In its first statement on May 14, a few days after Indian and Chinese troops had allegedly scuffled, the MEA explained the ground conditions under which the disagreements emerge and said both sides were attempting to maintain tranquility on the border.
Issue not discussed
A press conference by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi covered a number of topics, but did not touch the LAC question
from The Tribune https://ift.tt/2A7EDZc
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