India-China ties: Peace along LAC crucial, says Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stated in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday that following the ‘dis-engagement’ of troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), managing border areas with China requires further attention. He emphasised that peace and tranquillity along the LAC will form the basis of future relations with China.

Jaishankar detailed the steps taken at the diplomatic and military levels to handle the crisis that resulted in a military standoff in April-May 2020 and violent clashes, including the one at Galwan in June 2020.

The Minister said that India’s priority was to ensure disengagement from friction points to prevent untoward incidents and clashes, which has been fully achieved. He added that resumption of patrolling to traditional areas is underway.

It was initially tested by sending out ‘patrols for verification’ of disengagement on the ground and is being followed up by regular activities as per the agreed understanding, he added.

Jaishankar emphasised that three principles must be observed under all circumstances: both sides should strictly respect and observe the LAC; neither side should attempt to unilaterally alter the status quo; and agreements and understandings reached in the past must be fully abided by in their entirety.

On discussions in the past with China, Jaishankar made clear that “development of our ties were contingent on the principles of mutual sensitivity, mutual respect and mutual interests”. “Our relationship had progressed in many domains, but was obviously negatively affected by recent events,” Jaishankar added.

The conclusion of the disengagement phase now allows us to consider other aspects of our bilateral engagement in a calibrated manner, keeping our national security interests first and foremost, the Minister said.

Referring to the October 21, 2024, agreement regarding Depsang and Demchok, Jaishankar stated that the unstable local situation and impacted bilateral relationship were the primary drivers behind these recent efforts. The main issue in these two areas was the obstruction of long-standing patrolling activities. Additionally, in Demchok, there were concerns about access for the nomadic population to traditional grazing grounds and sites of cultural significance.

Jaishankar said, “With the task of disengagement completed, it is now our expectation that discussions would commence regarding the remaining issues that we had placed on the agenda.”

He praised the services for their competence and professionalism in speedy and effective counter-deployment. In negotiations with China, the defence and diplomatic arms worked in lockstep to ensure that our national interests were comprehensively met.