External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar briefed Parliament on the India-China border dispute on Tuesday.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar briefed Parliament on the India-China border dispute on Tuesday. The External Affairs Minister told the House that India and China are trying to resolve the border dispute through dialogue and diplomacy. However, there is still controversy over the LAC in many areas. India's aim is to find a solution acceptable to both countries.
He said, 'From 2020, relations between India and China are not normal. Since the border breach, relations between the two countries have not been good. However, the current talks have improved the situation a little.
Foreign Minister said- 38 meetings were held in 2 years, discussions were held at every level
Negotiations, Efforts and Diplomacy: The Foreign Minister said that I had a conversation with the Chinese Foreign Minister to improve relations between India and China. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh also spoke to his Chinese counterpart. In addition, Working Mechanism for Cooperation and Coordination (WMCC) meetings are held at the diplomatic level and High Military Commander (SHMC) meetings at the military level. Since June 2020, 17 meetings of the WMCC and 21 meetings of the SHMC have been held, followed by an agreement on the Depsang and Demchok areas on 21 October 2024. These issues have been under discussion since September 2022, when a final agreement was reached on the hot springs.
Confronting the China Challenge Strongly: For the first time in 45 years, the June 2020 Galwan encounter saw soldiers lose their lives and heavy weapons deployed along the border. India faced this challenge strongly.
A violent clash marred relations: In 2020, China deployed a large number of troops near the border in eastern Ladakh, leading to heightened tensions between the two countries' troops. This situation became a hindrance in the patrolling of the Indian Army. However, our army faced this challenge with strength. This severely damaged our efforts and affected the relations between the two countries.
All previous explanations failed: Since 1988, India-China has signed several agreements to resolve border disputes through dialogue and maintain peace. Peace and confidence building measures were taken in 1993, 1996 and 2005. China captured 38,000 square kilometers of Indian territory in Aksai China in the 1962 war. Apart from this, in 1963, Pakistan gave 5,180 square kilometers of Indian land to China.
There has been tension between India and China for four years over the border dispute in eastern Ladakh. After two years of long negotiations, an agreement was reached between the two countries in October. After this, the armies of both the countries have withdrawn from Depsang and Demchok.
According to the agreement, the two armies will return to their previous status from April 2020. Also, it will patrol the same areas it was patrolling before April 2020. Apart from this, commander level seats will be available.
In 2020, there was tension in Depsang and Demchok after fierce clashes between Indian and Chinese troops. After almost 4 years, a new patrol agreement was signed between the two countries on October 21. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the aim was to prevent Galwan-like clashes in Ladakh and restore the status quo.
In 2020, there was a clash between Chinese and Indian armies in Galwan
This image is of a bloody clash between Indian and Chinese troops on June 15, 2020, in the Galwan Valley of Ladakh. After this, the dispute between the two countries became more intense.
The foreign minister said in Geneva – 75% of the dispute with China has been resolved.
External Affairs Minister Jaishankar said during a summit in Geneva, Switzerland on September 12 that 75% of the dispute with China has been resolved. The External Affairs Minister also said that the issue of increasing militarization along the border is still serious.
Jaishankar said that the fierce clash between China and India in 2020 has had a bad impact on the relations between the two countries. No one can say that after a border skirmish, other relations will not be affected.
However, on September 25, at the Asia Society Policy Institute in New York, he clarified his statement that 75% of disputes would be resolved. He said, 'I said this only in reference to the retreat of the troops.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
