India objects to China hiking troop presence
China sees ties at ‘crossroads’ after 5-point joint statement
External affairs minister S. Jaishankar conveyed India’s “strong concerns” to Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on the “massing of Chinese troops” and their “provocative behaviour” along the Line of Actual Control that had “created flashpoints” and also emphasised that “the immediate task is to ensure a comprehensive disengagement of troops in all the friction areas”, government sources said.
The two countries finally agreed publicly in a joint statement on “five points” — including that the current situation in border areas is “not in the interest of either side” and that the border troops of both sides should “continue their dialogue, quickly disengage, maintain proper distance and ease tensions and avoid any action that could escalate matters”.
The big question that remains is whether this five-point consensus will actually translate into de
escalation on the ground.
At the “frank and constructive” bilateral meeting between the ministers in Moscow late on Thursday night that lasted for two and a half hours, Mr Jaishankar also told the Chinese minister India “would not countenance any attempt to change the status quo unilaterally” and that China “had not provided
any credible explanation” for its unilateral massing of troops that violated existing bilateral agreements, the sources added. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the eight-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organisation foreign ministers’ meeting in Moscow.
It was also conveyed by New Delhi that “an urgent resolution of the current situation was in the interest of both nations”.
The five points mentioned in the Sino-Indian joint statement after the meeting also included working on “new confidence-building measures”, continuing talks and following the “consensus” reached by the political leadership of the two countries earlier of “not allowing differences to become disputes”.
According to Chinese diplomatic sources, Mr Wang said bilateral ties are at a “crossroads”, but “the Chinese side is willing to support enhanced dialogue between the frontier troops on both sides to resolve specific issues”.
Meanwhile, the fivepoint Sino-Indian joint statement said: “The two sides agreed to continue to have dialogue and communication through the special representative mechanism on the IndiaChina boundary question. ... The ministers agreed that as the situation eases, the two sides should expedite work to conclude new confidencebuilding measures…”.