'India, China agree on need for border disengagement'

By Shuriah Niazi

NEW DELHI (AA) – India and China acknowledge the need to maintain close communication through diplomatic and military channels to ensure complete disengagement, India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Thursday.

The ministry said officials held detailed discussions on the neighbors’ border tensions at the 18th meeting of the India-China Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on Thursday.

“The two sides had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on the existing situation in border areas,” said spokesperson Anurag Srivastava.

The meeting was part of New Delhi and Beijing’s ongoing dialogue for disengagement in eastern Ladakh along the Line of Control, the countries’ de facto border.

“They reaffirmed that in accordance with the agreements reached between the two Foreign Ministers and the two Special Representatives, the two sides will continue to sincerely work towards complete disengagement of the troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Western Sector,” said the MEA statement.

It added that both sides agreed to resolve the outstanding issues “in an expeditious manner and in accordance with the existing agreements and protocols.”

Tensions have run high between India and China since a clash in May in the Ladakh region of the disputed Jammu and Kashmir territory.

At least 20 Indian soldiers were killed in the military face-off over a border spat that has persisted for more than seven decades.

China claims territory in India’s northeast, while New Delhi accuses Beijing of occupying its territory in the Aksai Chin plateau in the Himalayas, including part of the Ladakh region.