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The people cited above, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that though steps have been takentowardsdisengagement,the Indian side will be watching and monitoringthesituationcarefully to ensure Beijing’s actions match its commitments.
“You had the agreement at the corps commanders meeting of June 6 but then you also had the incidentofjune15,”oneofthepeople said, referring to the violent clash at Galwan Valley in the middle of last month, which also caused unspecified Chinese casualties. “At the talks between the Special Representatives, both sides agreed to take steps towards de-escalation and we will need to watch the situation closely,” the person added. The people cited above described Monday’s developments as the culmination of intense bilateral engagements over the past few days at the diplomatic and military levels. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s unannouncedvisittoladakhonfriday was intended to send out a clear message that India was firm and committedinalldefenceandsecurity matters, they added.
At the same time, external affairs minister S Jaishankar and foreign secretary Harsh Shringla had reached out to India’s key partners across the world, including the US, Russia, France and Germany, and shared India’s perspectiveonthestandoff,thepeople said. Some of these partners, such as France, had publicly conveyed their support, while others privately demonstrated understanding for India’s position.
The corps commanders have met on the ground on June 6, 22 and 30, while the Working Mechanismforconsultationandcoordination (WMCC) on border affairs has held two virtual meetings on June 5 and 24.
The statement from the external affairs ministry said both sides hadagreedthatthey“shouldcomplete the ongoing disengagement process along the LAC expeditiously”.
“They re-affirmed that both sides should strictly respect and observethelineofactualcontrol andshouldnottakeanyunilateral action to alter the status quo and work together to avoid any incident in the future that could disturb peace and tranquillity in border areas,” it said.
Doval and Wang, who last met in New Delhi on December 21, had what was described by the Indian side as a “frank and in-depth exchange of views” on recent developments in the western sector of the India-china border areas.thechinesesidecharacterised the talks as “candid and in-depth” and aimed at easing the border situation and reaching “positive common understandings”.thespecialrepresentatives agreed both sides should take guidance from the consensus of leadersofindiaandchinathatmaintenance of peace and tranquillity in border areas is essential for development of bilateral relations and that the “two sides should not allow differences to become disputes”, the external affairs ministry said.
They also agreed that diplomatic and military officials of the two sides should continue their discussions, including under the framework of the WMCC, and implement understandings reached in a timely manner to achievedisengagementandde-escalation,itadded.thespecialrepresentatives also agreed to continue their conversations to “ensurefullandenduringrestorationofpeaceandtranquillityinthe India-china border areas in accordance with the bilateral agreements and protocols”, the external affairs ministry said.
Inthechinesestatement,wang noted that bilateral ties have “withstood tests and made hardwon progress”.
“Bothsidesshouldadheretothe strategic assessment that instead of posing threats, the two countries provide each other with development opportunities. Both sides should pay great attention to the current complex situation facing China-india bilateral relations, and work together to overcomeandturnitaroundassoonas possible,” Wang was quoted as saying.
Expertsbelievealotwilldepend on the Chinese side delivering on itscommitmenttode-escalateand disengage along the LAC, where the PLA has arrayed thousands of troops, heavy vehicles and equipment and built numerous structures.
Formerambassadorrajivbhatia, distinguished fellow for foreign policy studies at Gateway House, said: “This is an evolving situation and clearly, if there is a genuine agreement and something has happened, it is good and should be welcomed. But the Indianpositionshouldbetoverify, and only then think of trusting. The record of the past two months is such that we must verify before we can start believing [the Chinese].”bhatia said the Indian side’s focus should be on ensuring that“thingscomeascloseaspossible to normalcy first, which is the restoration of the status quo”, before it thinks of the next steps in taking things forward.
Other experts expressed greater scepticism of Chinese motivations.
Strategicanalystbrahmachellaney said that this was the third round of “disengagement” — the first was followed by the Galwan incident and the second by fresh Chinese incursions. He suggested there were key differences in the two statements. “What is missing from China’s statement is India’s assertion that both sides agreed to ‘strictly respect and observe the lineofactualcontrol’and‘nottake any unilateral action to alter the status quo’. China also doesn’t use termssuchas‘de-escalation’,‘earliest’, and ‘expeditiously’ which the Indian side does.”
Headdedthatchina,underpinningitsfreshclaimtogalwanvalley,hadalsoalludedtoindiaasthe aggressor and asserted that it would‘continuefirmlysafeguarding our territorial sovereignty’. “Winning without fighting is China’s Sun Tzu-style strategy. It haschangedthesouthchinasea’s geopolitical map without firing a shot. Having grabbed vantage locations in Indian Ladakh without firing a shot, it is ready for disengagementtoclinchanotherwin without fighting.”