By Sachin Parashar
In a fresh diplomatic flare-up with China, India on Friday asserted that the situation at LAC was a result of Beijing’s efforts to unilaterally change the status quo along the border in eastern Ladakh with actions that violated bilateral agreements meant to ensure peace and tranquility in border areas.
India also asked China to match its words with actions when it says that it strictly follows bilateral agreements and protocols for border peace. Following external affairs minister S Jaishankar’s remarks that China had offered differing reasons for its deployment of a large number of troops at LAC, Beijing had said on Thursday that the responsibility for the 7month-old military stand-off lies squarely with India.
India, however, said its position had been very clear and had been articulated on several occasions in the past.
“The situation that we have seen since the last 6 months has been a result of the actions of the Chinese side which has sought to effect a unilateral change in status along the LAC in eastern Ladakh. These actions are in violation of the bilateral agreements and protocol on ensuring peace and tranquility along the LAC in the India-China border areas,’’ said MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava.
The government also described as factually incorrect China’s claim that it had to cancel the joint release of commemorative stamps to mark the 70 anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries because of a lack of feedback from India. While India had agreed to the proposal last year, no date of release had been finalised yet.
“Itmay also be noted that the launch of the 70th anniversary celebrations itself has not taken place yet, and therefore, the issue of going ahead with joint activities under its ambit does not arise,’’ said the spokesperson.
On the LAC, the core issues, the government reiterated, remained the need for the two countries to strictly follow the various bilateral agreements and protocols in their entirety. The two countries are currently looking to finalise dates for another round of talks between the senior commanders for LAC disengagement and de-escalation in border areas.( TOI )
