India asserts right to patrol friction points
MEA says Chinese side needs to work sincerely towards the de-escalation process after China called on India to ‘correct its wrong practices’
NEW DELHI: No force in the world can stop the Indian Army from patrolling borders, defence minister Rajnath Singh told lawmakers in Parliament on Thursday, signalling a resolve to regain access to several areas that are now difficult to reach due to actions by the Chinese army along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
In tensions that began in early May, Indian and Chinese troops have come face-to-face at multiple points along the de-factor border, known as the LAC. In some of these areas, particularly the Finger Area and Depsang in Ladakh, Indian forces have been cut off from reaching areas they could previously patrol.
Singh’s remark came in response to comments by former defence minister AK Antony, who was reacting to the statement by the incumbent made earlier in Rajya Sabha. “The former defence minister has said that China is stopping us from patrolling. I want to make it clear that is the reason for our fight with China. These were patrolling points that were traditional and are well-defined,” he said.
Singh added: “...No force in the world can stop Indian jawans from patrolling. If our soldiers have made sacrifices, it is for this reason that they have laid down their lives.”
Antony also said that the ongoing talks with China should result in India being able to restore how things were till midApril in the eastern Ladakh theatre and the outcome should allow that forces are able to patrol right up to India’s perception of its border.
NEW DELHI/BEIJING: India on Thursday pushed back against China’s efforts to deflect responsibility for delays in the disengagement process in Ladakh sector, saying Beijing should sincerely work for de-escalation and not make further attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo on the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The Indian side also insisted on implementing the consensus reached by the Indian foreign and defence ministers and their Chinese counterparts at meetings in Moscow earlier this month for “quick and complete disengagement of troops from all friction areas along the LAC”.
The move came soon after China’s foreign ministry called on India for the second consecutive day to “immediately correct its wrong practices, disengage on the ground as soon as possible and take concrete actions to ease tensions” on the border.
“The Chinese side should sincerely work with the Indian side for complete disengagement at the earliest from all friction areas, including Pangong Lake, as well as de-escalation in border areas in accordance with the bilateral agreements and protocols on maintenance of peace and tranquillity in border areas,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava told a weekly news briefing.
“We hope the Chinese side will strictly respect and observe the LAC and not make further attempts to unilaterally change the status quo,” he added.
Srivastava’s remarks suggested the two sides hadn’t been able to move forward with the five-point roadmap hammered out by external affairs minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in their talks on the margins of a meeting of foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Moscow on September 10. The roadmap envisages that both sides “should continue their dialogue, quickly disengage, maintain proper distance and ease tensions”.
“Both sides should, therefore, focus on easing tensions in the friction areas by refraining from any actions that may lead to an escalation in the situation. This requires strict adherence to the bilateral agreements and protocols and not making unilateral attempts to change the status quo,” Srivastava said.
Tensions have spiked on the north and south banks of Pangong Lake, where troops from the two sides are within close range of each other and where there have been several instances of firing since late August – the first time guns have been used along the LAC since 1975. Experts say India is keen to tamp down tensions in this area, and at other friction points such as Gogra and Kongka La.
Srivastava also noted that
defence minister Rajnath Singh stated categorically in Lok Sabha on Tuesday and in Rajya Sabha on Thursday that India is committed to a peaceful dialogue through diplomatic and military channels. In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin again put the onus for disengagement and de-escalation on the Indian side, saying New Delhi should “immediately correct its wrong practices, disengage on the ground as soon as possible and take concrete actions to ease the tensions”. He also sought to blame India for the tensions in eastern
Ladakh. Troops of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have always strictly abided by agreements between the two sides on maintaining peace and tranquillity along the disputed boundary, and are committed to safeguarding China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, he said.
On Wednesday, Wang had said China was not to blame for the crisis at the border, which has taken bilateral ties to its worst level in decades. “It is the Indian side that has breached the agreements, trespassed the territory first and fired shots to threaten the safety of Chinese
border troops first,” he had said on Wednesday. The Indian government has already dismissed such allegations from the Chinese side, saying PLA troops had engaged in provocative military manoeuvres and were not ready to disengage.
On Thursday, the nationalistic Global Times tabloid also accused India of not being sincere about honouring the consensus to disengage. An article in the tabloid a meeting of national security advisers of the BrazilRussia-India-China-South Africa (Brics) grouping was a good opportunity to ease border tensions but everything depended on India’s sincerity. National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi, a member of the political bureau of the central committee of the Communist Party of China joined the virtual meeting hosted by Russia.
Hu Zhiyong of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences told Global Times that China should be prepared to face the fact that consensus with India is possible but it should remain vigilant over whether India can keep its promises. Zhao Gancheng, from the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, said since Yang and Doval know each other for a long time, the Brics meeting brings hopes of peace.
Sameer Patil, fellow for international security studies at Gateway House, said both sides were clearly in a stalemate and would hold on to territory while continuing their efforts to gain an advantage wherever possible. “At the same time, they will be careful not to escalate too much and allow the diplomatic processes to proceed and see what they yield. In any case, we are entering winter and I don’t see the possibility of a major escalation of hostility since it will be difficult to mount an offensive campaign in the harsh weather conditions of winter,” Patil said.