New Delhi [India], December 3 (ANI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar briefed the Lok Sabha on the disengagement updates in Eastern Ladakh and the improvement of border infrastructure along the India–China border, as part of his statement regarding ‘recent developments in India‘s relations with China‘.
EAM Jaishankar said, “Through you I would like to inform the House, that disengagement has now been achieved in full in Eastern Ladakh through a step-by-step process, culminating in Depsang and Demchok. With the task of disengagement completed, it is now our expectation that discussions would commence in regard to the remaining issues that we had placed on the agenda”.
He brought to attention the previous positions articulated by the Government of India in the Parliament earlier on this issue.
“On 15 September 2020, Raksha Mantri ji made a detailed statement on Chinese attempts to transgress the LAC and the appropriate response given by our armed forces. On 11 February 2021, Raksha Mantri ji again briefed the House about our disengagement agreement on the North and South banks of the Pangong Lake. Thereafter, in August 2021, a third phase of disengagement took place in the area of Gogra, whereby troops would henceforth be in their respective bases. The next step took place in September 2022, pertaining to the Hot Springs area. Again, forward deployments ceased in a phased, coordinated and verified manner, resulting in the return of troops to their respective areas. The most recent October 21, 2024 agreement comes in the wake of the earlier ones. It completes the first phase of what we had agreed to in Moscow in September 2020′, EAM Jaishankar explained.
Jaishankar said, “There is a long history of frictions, transgressions and face-offs in several sectors of the India–China border. This goes back to Barahoti from 1954 to Longju in 1959, to Sumdorong Chu from 1986 to 1995 and Depsang in 2013, amongst others. In the past, earlier Governments have agreed to a range of steps to defuse situations that have arisen at different times, including offers on our side to create de-militarized zones, limited non-patrolling zones, relocation or withdrawal of posts, disengagement of troops and dismantlement of structures. Different locations have seen different solutions being examined”.
Notably, the EAM said, “Where the October 21 understanding is concerned, our objective has been to ensure patrolling as in the past to the relevant patrolling points, as well as the resumption of grazing by our civilians as per longstanding practice. This is indeed what we have agreed upon in regard to Depsang and Demchok”.
The EAM informed that in the other places where friction occurred in 2020, steps of a temporary and limited nature were worked out, based on local conditions, to obviate the possibility of further friction. “This, I must stress, applies to both sides and can be revisited as the situation demands. In that sense, our stance has been resolute and firm and serves our national interest fully,” EAM
Jaishankar told the House that ensuring national security in this manner was a result of cumulative and coordinated endeavours of many parts of the Government, centered around defence and security forces.
“The competence and professionalism of our services in this period was displayed in our speedy and effective counter-deployment. In the negotiations with China, the defence and diplomatic arms worked in lockstep to ensure that our national interests were comprehensively met”, the EAM said.
He also told the House that there has been a significant improvement in the border infrastructure which has made such effective counter-deployment possible. The External Affairs Minister said that this is seen in the increase in border infrastructure allocations in the last decade.
“The Border Roads Organization (BRO) alone has incurred three times the expenditure level of what it was a decade ago. Whether it is the length of the road networks, of bridges or of the number of tunnels, there has been a substantial increase over the earlier period”.
Highlighting the notable milestones in recent years, the EAM mentioned the Atal Tunnel to Lahul Spiti, the Sela and Nechiphu Tunnels to Tawang, the Umlingla Pass road in Southern Ladakh and the extended opening of the Zojila Axis. He informed the house, “Work is progressing on some strategically important roads and airfields in Ladakh. The adoption of new technologies in high-altitude, remote, inaccessible and permafrost areas has also been significant. All of this reflects the Government’s firm commitment to protecting our borders and ensuring that our armed forces get the facilities and the logistical support that they deserve”.
Sharing with the members of the House, expectations regarding the direction of India‘s ties with China in the near future, EAM said, “Our relationship had progressed in many domains, but was obviously negatively affected by recent events. We are clear that the maintenance of peace and tranquillity in border areas is a prerequisite for the development of our ties. In the coming days, we will be discussing both de-escalation as well as effective management of our activities in the border areas”.
Concluding his remarks, EAM said, “The conclusion of the disengagement phase now allows us to consider other aspects of our bilateral engagement in a calibrated manner, keeping our national security interests first and foremost. In my recent meeting with FM Wang Yi, we reached an understanding that the Special Representatives and the Foreign Secretary level mechanisms will be convening soon”. (ANI)
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