India, China ‘agree’ to disengage in batches
De-escalation along LAC to be a complex process: Sources
● In the days ahead, more meetings are expected, both at the military and diplomatic level “to arrive at a mutually agreeable solution”
● Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is likely to visit Ladakh on Friday to review India’s military preparedness
● INDIA WILL not allow Chinese firms to participate in highway projects, including those through joint ventures, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said
India and China have agreed that “an expeditious, phased and stepwise de-escalation” along the Line of Actual Control was a priority, at the 12hour-long corps commanders’ meeting on Tuesday, government sources said.
“The discussions reflected the commitment of both sides to reduce tensions along the LAC. The process of dis-engagement along the LAC is complex and in such a context, speculative and unsubstantiated reports need to be avoided,” the sources said Wednesday.
They said that in the days ahead more meetings are expected, both at the military and diplomatic levels “to arrive at a mutually agreeable solution and to ensure peace and tranquility along the LAC”.
China’s state-owned Global Times reported China and India had agreed to disengage frontline border troops in “batches” and take effective steps to ease the situation in the border areas at the commanders’ talks.
“The military commander-level meeting showed the two sides’ willingness to ease tensions on the border, and avoid further escalating the situation,” it reported on Wednesday.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh is likely to visit the Ladakh sector Friday along with Army chief General M.M. Naravane to review the situation.
He will meet the senior military leadership in Ladakh and also interact with the troops on the ground.
Meanwhile, China on Wednesday welcomed the progress made in Sino India senior military commander-level talks.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Wednesday that “the two sides made progress in effective measures by frontline troops to disengage and de-escalate the situation”.
He said the “two sides continue working towards implementing the consensus reached at the two earlier rounds of commander level talks and made progress in effective measures by frontline troops to disengage and deescalate the situation.”
“China welcomes that,” Zhao said in a reply posted on the Foreign Ministry website to a query about the June 30 senior commander-level talks.
“We hope the Indian side will work with the Chinese side towards the same goal, keep up close communication through military and diplomatic channels, and ease the situation and reduce the temperature along the border,” he said.
The Indian and Chinese armies are locked in a bitter standoff in multiple locations in eastern Ladakh for the last seven weeks, and the tension escalated manifold after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a violent clash in Galwan Valley on June 15. The Chinese side also suffered casualties but it is yet to give out the details.