State of India-China border will affect broader bilateral ties: MEA on Arunachal standoff reports

The foreign ministry on Tuesday said that maintaining peace and tranquillity at the Line of Actual Control between India and China is of utmost importance, and that the “state of the border affairs” will affect bilateral ties in general.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal made the remarks at a media briefing in response to a question about reports of a fresh standoff between Indian and Chinese troops in Arunachal Pradesh.

The standoff was first reported in early July in the remote Taksin area of Upper Subansiri district, the Hindustan Times quoted unidentified sources as saying. There were several face-offs between Indian and Chinese troops in July, which became more serious towards the end of the month. The Army and the Union government have not yet commented on the reports.

While Jaiswal did not comment specifically on the reported standoff, he said that India had raised the importance of maintaining peace along the Line of Actual Control at the 36th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs in New Delhi on August 6.

“In matters relating to the border areas between India and China, we have always emphasised in discussions with the Chinese side that we consider these issues as most serious and that the maintenance...

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