In a calibrated message to deescalate tensions arising out of a reported incursion of Chinese troops inside the Indian territory eight days ago, India has asked China to revert to the status quo position in the Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) sector in Ladakh and has voiced hope that the issue could be resolved peacefully soon.
“We have asked the Chinese side to maintain the status quo in this sector (of the western border),” Syed Akbaruddin, the spokesperson of India’s external affairs ministry, said in the capital New Delhi April 23. “By this, I mean the status quo prior to this incident,” he clarified.
Taking a nuanced view of the sensitive situation, the spokesperson said: “We see this as a face-to-face situation between border personnel of two sides due to differences on their alignment of Line of Actual Control”. The spokesperson stressed that in the past such incidents have been resolved peacefully. And it is our hope that this time it will also be resolved peacefully, he added.
The two Asian giants, which have held 15 rounds of talks to resolve their decades-old boundary dispute but without much headway, have agreed to a slew of protocols and agreements for maintaining peace and tranquillity along the undemarcated border. These cross-border confidence-building measures (CBMs) have been in place for more than a decade, and are aimed at thwarting flare-ups on the border and preventing these incidents from becoming a diplomatic flashpoint.
In fact, the “face-to-face” situation has been mentioned in the 2005 Protocol for implementation of CBMs in military field in the LAC in India-China border areas. “If the border personnel of the two sides come in a face-to-face situation due to differences on the alignment of the line of actual control or any other reason, they shall exercise self-restraint and take all necessary steps to avoid an escalation of the situation,” says Article IV of the protocol. “Both sides shall also enter into immediate consultations through diplomatic and/or other available channels to review the situation and prevent any escalation of tension.”
‘The two sides agree to speed up the process of clarification and confirmation of the Line of Actual Control,’ says article 10 of the 1996 agreement on Confidence Building Measures in the Military Field along the Line of Actual Control in the India-China Border Areas.
In accordance with the protocols, the local military commanders of India and China held a flag meeting April 23, their second effort to defuse tensions since the April 15 incident.
The spokesperson also outlined some steps taken by India’s foreign office to seek clarifications from the Chinese side and to convey New Delhi’s concerns on resolving the issue at the earliest.
A day after the incident, Gautam Bambawale, joint secretary in charge of East Asia in India’s external affairs ministry and co-chair of the working mechanism for consultation and coordination on India-China border affairs, spoke to the Director-General Border Affairs in the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs April 16 and impressed upon his Chinese interlocutor to resolve the issue. Subsequently, a flag meeting was held between local commanders, and India’s Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai met China’s ambassador to India Wei Wei April 18 and voiced New Delhi’s concerns.
China has denied trespassing the Line of Actual Control that serves as the de facto border between the two countries pending a final boundary settlement. “China’s frontier troops have been abiding by the agreement between the two countries and abiding by the LAC agreed by the two countries. Our frontier troops have been patrolling on the China’s side of LAC,” China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying Hua said at a media briefing in the Chinese capital Beijing April 22.
The incursion incident has come at a time when the prime ministers of India and China are poised to visit each other’s country and signal their resolve to sustain the momentum in this crucial relationship that has a tendency to be embroiled in misperceptions and posturing.
“Both India and China are committed to having high-level visits. There is a commitment both by our prime minister to visit China and an invitation from our prime minister for the Chinese prime minister to visit India. We are still working on these issues,” said Akbaruddin. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is expected to visit India around May 20.
In an important confidence-building measure, India and China had set up a Mechanism on Coordination and Consultation on Border Affairs last year to address issues relating to maintaining peace and tranquillity along the border. The mechanism has held two meetings so far.
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