Sandeep Dikshit
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, June 25
India on Thursday said the "heart of the matter" behind the frequent incidents and faceoffs along the LAC was the massive armament and troop buildup by China in the area since May this year. This has been accompanied by Chinese forces behaving in complete disregard for all mutually agreed norms.
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Stick to 1993 pact
This buildup by both sides must be reduced in accordance with a 1993 treaty to keep forces in the areas along the LAC to a minimum level compatible with good neighbourly relations.
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Calling upon China to sincerely follow up on the understanding reached between the two Foreign Ministers to ensure speedy restoration of peace in border areas, India cautioned that a continuation of the current situation would only vitiate the atmosphere for the development of bilateral ties.
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said the deployment of a large body of troops and changes in their behaviour had also been aggravated by unjustified and untenable claims. The recent shift in the Chinese position on the Galwan valley is one example, he said.
Srivastava said the Chinese buildup had forced India to undertake counter deployments and the resulting tension had "thereafter expressed itself". This buildup by both sides, he said, needed to be reduced in accordance with a 1993 treaty to keep military forces in the areas along the LAC to a minimum level compatible with friendly and good neighbourly relations between the two countries. In terms of cooling tensions, the MEA felt the meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs after a gap of nearly a year was a "significant development''.
The MEA said neither the change in Chinese behaviour in recent years, which departed from a mutual understanding of set patterns of patrolling that avoided each other, nor the massive buildup on the border was in accordance with the provisions of several bilateral pacts, especially the key 1993 Agreement on the Maintenance of Peace and Tranquillity along the LAC.
It all began in early May, when Chinese troops hindered India's normal, traditional patrolling pattern in the Galwan valley area. Though the ground commanders addressed this issue, the Chinese side sought to change the status quo in other areas of the Western Sector.
Ready to fix row: Chinese envoy
New Delhi: Striking a conciliatory note, China on Thursday said it was ready to work with India to deal with the border standoff. Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidon said India and China were willing to properly manage their differences, and called upon New Delhi to avoid taking actions that might "complicate" the situation in Ladakh. PTI
Took up Chinese aggression: US
Washington: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said he had a very frank discussion with his Chinese counterpart Wang Jiechi about the "unprovoked aggression" by Beijing on a number of fronts. During the meeting in Hawaii, Pompeo said he also pressed for "more transparency" on the outbreak of virus. PTI
Standoff worrying: UK PM
"Escalation in eastern Ladakh is a very serious and worrying situation. We are encouraging both parties to engage in dialogue on the issues." Boris Johnson, uk pm
from The Tribune https://ift.tt/2ZgWPZE
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