New Delhi: India said disengagement of Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh has not yet been completed. India’s clarification came two days after China claimed that the process was completed at most locations in the region.
The clear assertion by New Delhi came ahead of a fresh round of Lt General-level talks between the Indian Army and the Chinese PLA which government sources said is set to take place within the next two days.
“There has been some progress made towards this objective but the disengagement process has as yet not been completed,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said at an online media briefing when asked about China’s claim Tuesday that the frontline troops of the two countries have completed disengagement at most localities along the Line of Actual Control(LAC).
The MEA spokesperson said the senior commanders of the two militaries will be meeting in the ‘near future’ to work out steps towards carrying forward the disengagement exercise.
Srivastava said India expects that the Chinese side will ‘sincerely’ work with it for ‘complete disengagement and de-escalation’ and ‘full restoration’ of peace and tranquility in the border areas at the ‘earliest’ as agreed during talks between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
“As we have stated earlier, the maintenance of peace and tranquility in the border areas is the basis of our bilateral relationship,” Srivastava said. “Therefore, we expect that the Chinese side will sincerely work with us for complete disengagement and de-escalation and full restoration of peace and tranquility in the border areas at the earliest as agreed to by the Special Representatives,” he added.
In their diplomatic talks on July 24, the two sides agreed that an early and complete disengagement of the troops along the LAC in accordance with bilateral agreement and protocols was essential for overall development of bilateral relations.
PTI