- On June 15, 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a clash between India and China in Galwan;
- “Disengagement process should be agreed on both sides to complete soon”: External Affairs Ministry
India said on Friday that it expected China to work closely with us for the purpose of complete disengagement and de-escalation on the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Foreign Ministry spokesman, Anurag Shrivastava, said that it is necessary for both sides to agree for full peace restoration in the border area so that bilateral relations remain strong even ahead of both countries.
Srivastava said in an online media briefing that as Foreign Minister (S. Jaishankar) recently said in an interview that the situation in the border and the future of our relations cannot be separated. India and China have held several diplomatic and military meetings for disengagement in the eastern Ladakh region in the past few weeks.
Disengagement process should be completed as soon as possible
Srivastava said- “We want the disengagement process to be completed as soon as possible. For this we need to keep in mind that consent is from both sides. So we hope that China will work with us sincerely”.
Srivastava referred to the phone conversation between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on July 5. During this time, decisions were taken between the two representatives regarding the complete disengagement of soldiers on LAC. Doval and Wang are Special Representatives for the border talks.
Disengagement process begins the day after Doval-Wang talks
On 6 July, a day after the Doval-Wang talks, the formal disengagement of troops began. He said that, “to resolve the boundary dispute, the consensus reached between the special representatives was necessary to be fully implemented. Only then can complete peace be established. Completing these is a complex process. In this, the forces need to be deployed at their normal posts. This can be done only after the consent of both the parties”.
According to military sources, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has retreated from the Galwan Valley and some other conflict zones. But Pangong has not returned its troops from the Finger areas in Tso, Gogra and Depsang.
There may be a meeting between the two countries;
India has been insisting that China must withdraw its forces from the areas between Finger Four and Eight. Referring to military and diplomatic talks, Srivastava said that more meetings are expected in the coming times. He said that both countries are engaged in complete disengagement from the border areas through diplomatic and military channels.