Indus Valley Times

NEW DELHI, MAR 18: The situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC)in eastern Ladakh remained “very fragile” and is “quite dangerous” in military assessment because of close deployments of troops from both sides in some pockets though substantial progress has been made in the disengagement process in many areas, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday.

Jaishankar also said that he and former Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi had reached an in-principle agreement in September 2020 on how to resolve the issue and that it is for China to deliver on what was agreed to.

In an interactive session at the India Today conclave, the external affairs minister also made it clear that the relationship between the two countries can not return to normal until “these problems” are sorted out.

The Indian and Chinese troops are locked in a standoff for the past three years at certain friction points in eastern Ladakh even as the two sides completed disengagement of troops from several areas following extensive diplomatic and military talks.

“This is a very, I would say, challenging and abnormal phase in our ties with China. Why I say that is because from 1988 when Rajiv Gandhi went there till 2020 the understanding was that peace and tranquillity on the border would be maintained,” Jaishankar said.

The external affairs minister also referred to agreements between the two sides to not bring large forces to the border, adding a “very specific” set of understandings and even protocols were put in place on the handling of various situations.

India lost access to 26 out of 65 Patrolling Points in eastern Ladakh

Jaishankar said the Chinese violated the agreements in 2020 and the consequences were seen in the Galwan Valley and other areas as well. “We have deployed our troops, we have stood our ground and the situation to my mind still remains very fragile because there are places where our deployments are very close up and in military assessment, actually therefore, quite dangerous,” he said.

“Now we have made substantial progress when it comes to disengagement in many areas. There are many areas where we have ongoing discussions. It is a painstaking job and we will do that,” he said.

“We have made it very clear to the Chinese that we cannot have a breach of peace and tranquillity, you can’t violate agreements and then want the rest of the relationship to continue as though nothing happened. That’s just not tenable,” Jaishankar added.

The minister’s comments came a day after Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande said that the situation along the LAC is stable but there is a need to keep a “very close watch” on it.

-PTI