India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday said that Chinese and Indian troops’ disengagement from the Line of Actual Control was reached after sustained negotiations at the military and diplomatic level and that the tenth round of senior commanders meeting would take place 48 hours after complete disengagement.
In a weekly briefing, MEA Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said, “This agreement was reached after several rounds of sustained negotiations at the military and diplomatic level.
He further informed that that the next steps post disengagement have been “clearly spelt out” by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh during his speech in the Parliament on Thursday.
“India’s strategy and approach during disengagement talks with China is based on directions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that we will not allow an inch of our territory to be taken by anyone. It is a result of our firm resolve that we have reached the situation of an agreement,” Singh said during a session in Parliament.
Singh had said that the Chinese side will keep its troop presence in the North Bank area to the east of Finger 8. “Indian troops will be based at their permanent base at Dhan Singh Thapa Post near Finger 3. Similar action would be taken in the South Bank area by both sides,” the minister said.
MEA spokesperson further said that no date has been set for the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC).
“The two (India and China) sides have also agreed to convene (the) tenth round of senior commanders meeting within 48 hours after complete disengagement in the Pangong lake area, to address the remaining issues. No date has been set so far for the WMCC,” Srivastava added.
On the subject of whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken to Chinese President Xi Jinping, the MEA said that the two leaders have not spoken yet. “You would get to know,” said the spokesperson.
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