Military commanders of India-China to meet soon, discuss complete disengagement

New Delhi, Sep 11: The foreign ministers of India and China underlined the importance of disengagement at the Line of Actual Control as the first step towards deescalation of tensions.

The military commanders of India and China will meet in the next couple of days to discuss disengagement from friction points along the LAC. While no date has been fixed as yet, sources tell OneIndia that there are some issues under discussion before the military commanders could meet.

Officials say that the military commanders would work out the process to disengage. China's Foreign Minister, Wang Yi and his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar agreed that the de-escalation should follow comprehensive disengagement.

India told China that the massing of Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control is a cause of grave concern. Beijing was told that the provocative behaviour by the Chinese along the LAC showed complete disregard for bilateral agreements and protocols. When Yi said that the bi-lateral ties should continue on a parallel track, Jaishankar reminded him about the immense build up of Chinese troops. China has deployed 50,000 men, tanks, missiles and 150 aircraft.

While Yi spoke about thinning of troops, he had no clear answer about the massive troop build up. Jaishankar however added that while India is all in favour of bi-lateral ties, this could work well only if the borders were peaceful.

Yi said that it was important to move back all personnel and equipment that have trespassed. The frontier troops must completely disengage so that the situation may de-escalate, China also said.

The Ministry of External Affairs(MEA) issued a joint press statement early on Friday featuring five points which were agreed by both the sides at the "frank and constructive" discussions by the two ministers.

"The two foreign ministers agreed that the current situation in the border areas is not in the interest of either side. They agreed, therefore, that the border troops of both sides should continue their dialogue, quickly disengage, maintain proper distance and ease tensions," it said.

The joint statement said Jaishankar and Wang agreed that both sides should take guidance from the series of consensus reached between leaders of the two countries on developing India-China relations, including not allowing differences to become disputes.

This assessment was a clear reference to decisions taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping at their two informal summits in 2018 and 2019.

"The two ministers agreed that both sides shall abide by all the existing agreements and protocol on China-India boundary affairs, maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas and avoid any action that could escalate matters," the joint statement said.

At the talks, Jaishankar and Wang agreed that as the situation eases on the border, the two sides should expedite work to conclude new confidence building measures to maintain and enhance peace and tranquility in the border areas.

The joint statement said the two sides also agreed to continue to have dialogue and communication through the Special Representative(SR) mechanism on the India-China boundary question.