Headway at LAC as China, India begin troop pullback
NSA Doval speaks to Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi; New Delhi monitors PLA withdrawal with caution
NEWDELHI/BEIJING: Chinese troops on Monday withdrew up to 1.5km from key friction points in eastern Ladakh, marking the beginning of an agreement between India and China on disengagement on the Line of Actual Control, according to people familiar with the matter.
The move towards de-escalation -- the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) pulled back some distance from friction areas in Galwan Valley, Hot Springs and Gogra, with the Indian Army moving back proportionately; and there was some thinning of PLA troops at the sensitive Finger Area -- followed a conversation on Sunday between the Special Representatives (SR) on the boundary issue, National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval and foreign minister Wang Yi.
This was the first contact between the Special Representatives, the highest bilateral mechanism on the border issue, since the stand-off began in early May. They agreed it was necessary to “ensure at the earliest complete disengagement of the troops along the LAC and de-escalation from India-China border areas for full restoration of peace and tranquillity”, said an external affairs ministry readout.
A statement from China’s foreign ministry in Beijing said both sides “stressed the importance of promptly acting on the consensus reached in the commander-level talks...and complete disengagement of the frontline troops as soon as possible”.
Experts believe that the statements reflect a positive movement, but also pointed to the nuanced distinctions in the statements that indicate China may still be holding on to its unilateral territorial claims.
While the Indian statement did not refer to the June 15 incident -- in which 20 Indian and an unspecified number of Chinese troops were willed -- the Chinese statement quoted Wang as saying that the “right and wrong of what recently happened at the Galwan Valley is very clear” and China will continue to “effectively defend its territorial sovereignty and maintain peace and tranquillity in the border area”.