LAC disengagement set India-China ties in ‘direction of some improvement’, says S Jaishankar
The next priority will be de-escalation, which would address the massing of troops along the Line of Actual Control, the external affairs minister said.
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The conclusion of disengagement between India and China along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh has set relations between the two countries in the direction of some improvement, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
Jaishankar said that full disengagement had been achieved in eastern Ladakh through a step by step process.
This was the foreign minister’s first statement to Parliament since New Delhi and Beijing reached an agreement in October on patrolling arrangements in Ladakh’s Depsang and Demchok.
It is “now our expectation that discussions would commence in regard to the remaining issues” on the agenda, Jaishankar said. “The next priority will be to consider de-escalation, that would address the massing of troops along the LAC,” he added.
The agreement signed in October, Jaishankar said, aims to restore patrolling to previous points and resume grazing by civilians in Depsang and Demchok, as per long-standing practices.
He said that “steps of a temporary and limited nature”, which can be revisited “as the situation demands”, had been worked out to prevent problems in areas where military face-offs took place in 2020.
“In that sense, our stance has been resolute and firm and serves our national interest fully,” Jaishankar added.
The external affairs minister said that he had reached an understanding with his Chinese...
