India urges peace along LAC amid fresh China face-off
Indian ministry of external affairs spokesperson during a press briefing in New Delhi.
New Delhi: India on Wednesday stressed the need to maintain peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) amid reports of a fresh standoff between Indian and Chinese troops in Arunachal Pradesh, saying the situation along the border would have a bearing on overall bilateral ties.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal made the remarks during a media briefing while responding to questions about the reported incident.
Jaiswal did not deny that a fresh border incident had taken place, but declined to provide details. He said India had reiterated its position during a meeting of the Joint Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China border affairs held in August.
“India again underlined that peace and tranquillity in the border areas is essential for the overall development of bilateral ties,” Jaiswal said.
He added that both sides had agreed to continue using existing diplomatic and military channels to address outstanding issues and prevent misunderstanding and miscalculation along the disputed border.
The comments came days after officials from the two countries met in New Delhi and ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s expected visit to India for the BRICS summit, which New Delhi is hosting as the grouping’s rotating chair.
The latest development also follows a fresh dispute over Arunachal Pradesh. Last week, India officially identified 27 places and geographical features in the state by their standard names on an official map. China objected to the move, calling it “invalid”.
Chinese state media also criticised the decision, describing it as an act of “self-deception” and arguing that it ran counter to the improving momentum in bilateral relations.
India and China share a 3,488-km-long, largely undemarcated border that has remained a major source of tension between the two countries.
Relations deteriorated sharply following the June 2020 Galwan Valley
clash, in which soldiers from both sides were killed. The two countries subsequently deployed thousands of troops and heavy military equipment along the border and held several rounds of military and diplomatic talks to ease tensions.
Ties have gradually improved in recent years following disengagement at several friction points. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Xi met in Tianjin last August, signalling a thaw in bilateral relations.