New Delhi: India on Thursday said that disengagement process has yet not been completed in Eastern Ladakh amid the rising border tensions with China.
Senior Commanders of Indian and Chinese armies will meet in the near future to work out steps in this regard, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said during virtual weekly media briefing here on Thursday.
“There has been some progress made towards this objective but the disengagement process has as yet not been completed,” he said.
Earlier, China had claimed that frontline border troops have completed the disengagement process in most locations and the situation on the ground is easing.
The MEA’s reactions comes hours after Chinese ambassador to India Sun Weidong said border troops of both countries “have disengaged in most localities” and China was not a strategic threat to India.
The spokesperson further added that the maintenance of peace and tranquility in the border areas is the basis of bilateral relationship. “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,” Mr Srivastava added.
After 17th meeting of the Working Mechanism the two sides had reviewed the situation in the India-China border areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Western sector.
They had agreed that early and complete disengagement of the troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and de-escalation from India-China border areas in accordance with bilateral agreement and protocols and full restoration of peace and tranquility was essential for smooth overall development of bilateral relations.
“This was also the agreement reached between the two Special Representatives, NSA and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in their conversation on July 5,” he said.
The military standoff began early May after Chinese and Indian troops came to blows on the north bank of the lake.
On June 15, both sides engaged in a violent face-off and 20 Indian Army personnel were killed.
