India, China adopt 5-point approach to resolve border crisis, to quickly disengage troops and ease tensions along LAC

The foreign ministers of India and China have agreed that troops of the two countries must quickly disengage from a border standoff, they said in a joint statement issued on Friday. S Jaishankar and Wang Yi met in Moscow on the sidelines of the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation(SCO).

Both the countries have agreed on a five-point roadmap including quick disengagement of troops and avoiding any action that could escalate tensions for resolving the 4 month long face off in eastern Ladakh.

The Indian side strongly raised the deployment of large number of troops and military equipment by China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh and conveyed its concern. The Chinese side could not provide a credible explanation for the troops buildup, primary reports noted.

According to the statement, the five-point agreement is to guide the approach of the two countries to the current border situation. Besides striving for quick disengagement of troops, the two countries agreed that their soldiers should maintain proper distance from each other and abide by all existing agreements and protocol on management of the de-facto border. Here’s the brief of frank and constructive 5 point agreement-

1. The current situation in the border areas is not in the interest of either side. The border troops of both sides should therefore, continue their dialogue, quickly disengage, maintain proper distance and ease tensions,

2. Both sides should take guidance from the series of consensus reached between leaders of the two countries on developing India-China relations, including not allowing differences to become disputes,

3. Both sides shall abide by all the existing agreements and protocol on China-India boundary affairs, maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas and avoid any action that could escalate matters,

4. The two to continue to have dialogue and communication through the Special Representative(SR) mechanism on the India-China boundary question,

5. The Working Mechanism for consultation and coordination on India-China border affairs (WMCC) should also continue at its meetings

The Indian side meanwhile also insisted that the immediate task is to ensure a comprehensive disengagement of troops in all the friction areas and that it is necessary to prevent any untoward incident in the future, the statement read, adding the final disposition of the deployment of troops to their permanent posts and the phasing of the process is to be worked out by the military commanders of the two sides.

The Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army(PLA) have been locked in a tense standoff in multiple areas along the LAC in eastern Ladakh since early May. Shots were fired across the LAC on Monday for the first time in 45 years with the two sides accusing each other of firing in the air.