India, China aiming for ‘stability on the ground’ as efforts for Ladakh disengagement continue, says MEA

India and China have decided to hold another round of talks between senior commanders, as well as one involving diplomats under the WMCC.

The national flags of China and India | Representational Image | Photo: Dhiraj Singh | Bloomberg

New Delhi: India and China want “to ensure stability on the ground” even as efforts to pursue disengagement in Ladakh continue, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Thursday, referring to the first-ever New Delhi-Beijing military-diplomatic dialogue that was held earlier this week. 

India and China, the ministry said, have also decided to hold another round of talks between senior commanders, as well as one involving diplomats under the framework of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC), one of the bilateral agreements for peaceful resolution of disputes.

“As we have pointed out earlier, disengagement is a complex process that requires redeployment of troops by each side towards their regular posts on their respective sides of the Line of Actual Control (LAC). This would require mutually agreed reciprocal actions,” MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said.

“Even as the two sides work towards complete disengagement in all friction areas, it is at the same time also necessary to ensure stability on the ground. The latest senior commanders’ meeting should be seen in all this overall context,” he added.

The Indian and Chinese military commanders last met on 21 September. It was the sixth session of talks between the military commanders, and was held as part of a dialogue that also included participants at the diplomatic level. The MEA was represented at the dialogue by Naveen Srivastava, joint secretary (East Asia). The meeting went on for 14 hours. 

“The way ahead will be to refrain from making any attempts to unilaterally change the status quo, while the two sides continue their discussions to achieve complete disengagement in all friction areas and to ensure full restoration of peace and tranquility in the border areas,” the spokesperson said.

‘Commitment to disengage’

Talking about the joint press statement that was issued after the senior commanders’ meeting, Srivastava said it “reflects the stated commitment of both sides to disengage along the LAC”.

Drawing from the statement, Srivastava added that New Delhi and Beijing have now decided that both sides will “stop sending troops in the frontline, refrain from unilaterally changing the situation on the ground, and avoid taking any actions that may complicate the situation”.