While three rounds of military talks have been held ever since the standoff at the border, the Special Representatives mechanism was activated on Sunday to ensure ‘earliest complete disengagement” of the troops along the LAC and “de-escalation” to ensure “restoration of peace and tranquility”.
On Sunday, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval spoke with Chinese State Councillor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi, to defuse the ongoing tensions at the border.
The thrust of the conversation focussed to ensure at the earliest complete disengagement of troops and de-escalation; aimed at full restoration of peace and tranquility; to work together to avoid any future incident; and to continue conversations to ensure full and enduring restoration of peace and tranquility.
A day after the talks between the two Special Representatives on border tensions, disengagement began at the border. But experts say that any news of Chinese pullback would have to be verified on the ground.
Both sides had a “frank and in-depth exchange of views” on the recent developments in the Western Sector of the India-China border areas, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement on Monday.
The Indian side focused on the specifics of the conversation and the way forward.
“The two Special Representatives agreed that the diplomatic and military officials of the two sides should continue their discussions, including under the framework of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China border affairs (WMCC), and implement the understandings reached in a timely manner to achieve the above outcomes,” said the MEA statement.
It added, “It was also agreed that the two Special Representatives will continue their conversations to ensure full and enduring restoration of peace and tranquillity in the India-China border areas in accordance with the bilateral agreements and protocols.”
While the Indian side hit a conciliatory note, the Chinese statement, on the other hand, added its stated position on Galwan.
“The right and wrong of what recently happened at the Galwan Valley in the western sector of the China-India boundary is very clear. China will continue firmly safeguarding our territorial sovereignty as well as peace and tranquility in the border areas,” Chinese foreign ministry statement said.
According to the statement, Wang Yi stressed that both sides should adhere to the “strategic assessment” instead of “posing threats”.
“We hope India can work with China to guide public opinion in the right direction, keep and advance bilateral exchanges and cooperation, and avoid amplifying the differences and complicating matters so as to jointly uphold the big picture of China-India relations,” the Chinese statement said.
While sources said that the Chinese have gone back from their earlier position in the Galwan Valley, the two Special Representatives agreed that both sides should take “guidance” from the consensus reached by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the two informal summits of Wuhan (2018) and Mamallapurm (2019) when both leaders agreed to not allow “differences” to become “disputes”.
Meanwhile, the two sides agreed to adhere to the agreements signed by the two countries and making joint efforts to ease the situation in the border areas.
And both sides agreed to strengthen diplomatic communication through SR talks and WMCC (Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on China-India Border Affairs) talks without interruption.
