NEW DELHI, Sept 22: In first such moves to bring down tensions in Eastern Ladakh, India and China todayagreed to stop sending more troops to the frontline, refrain from unilaterally changing the situation on the ground and avoid taking any actions that may further complicate matters.
The announcement of the decisions was made by the Indian and Chinese Army in a joint statement, a day after the sixth round of Corps Commander-level talks that lasted for 14-hours, in what is seen as an attempt to create an environment to resolve the over four-month long border standoff.
However, there appeared to be no forward movement in disengagement of troops from the multiple friction points on the Line of Actual Control(LAC).
The statement said the two militaries also agreed to strengthen communication on the ground, avoid misunderstandings and misjudgments and earnestly implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries.
In the statement, it was mentioned that the two sides also agreed to take practical measures to properly solve problems on the ground, and jointly safeguard peace and tranquillity in the border areas. They also resolved to hold the 7th round of military commander talks as soon as possible.
The announcement of a slew of decisions was made in identical statements released by the Indian and Chinese Army in Delhi and Beijing simultaneously.
“The two sides had candid and in-depth exchange of views on stabilising the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the India-China border areas,” said the statement released by the Indian Army.
“They agreed to earnestly implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, strengthen communication on the ground, avoid misunderstandings and misjudgments, stop sending more troops to the frontline, refrain from unilaterally changing the situation on the ground, and avoid taking any actions that may complicate the situation,” it said about the Corps commander talks.
It is for the first time that the armies of the two countries have announced specific measures to ease tensions in Eastern Ladakh after the face-off erupted in the Himalayan region in early May.
Since then, they have rushed thousands of troops and heavy weaponry to almost all the sensitive areas along the LAC.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, meanwhile, said China will continue to narrow the differences and resolve disputes with others through negotiations, in comments that came against the backdrop of the Ladakh standoff.
Addressing the general debate of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly, he said, “We will continue to narrow differences and resolve disputes with others through dialogue and negotiation.”
“We will never seek hegemony, expansion, or sphere of influence. We have no intention to fight either a Cold War or a hot war with any country,” Xi said in a pre-recorded video message to the UN meeting.(PTI)
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