LAC standoff | India, China for timely troop pullback

India and China on Friday agreed to push for a “timely” and “complete” disengagement of troops along the Line of Actual Control and to hold another round of military-level talks, set for next week, to address persisting border tensions. Consensus reached by Special Representatives The Ministry of External Affairs said that both sides reaffirmed they “will ensure complete disengagement of the troops along the LAC and de-escalation from India-China border areas for full restoration of peace and tranquillity”, and follow the consensus reached by the two Special Representatives, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and State Councillor Wang Yi, during their call on July 5. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that both sides agreed “to continue to maintain dialogue and consultations through military and diplomatic channels, promote further de-escalation of the situation on the ground, strengthen confidence-building measures in the border areas, and properly handle border issues in a timely manner to avoid differences becoming disputes.” The talks were led by Naveen Srivastava, Joint Secretary in the MEA, and Hong Liang, Director General of the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs of the MFA. He said the June 15 clash in Galwan Valley “was a situation neither China nor India would like to see.” He said the two SRs on July 5 “reached a positive consensus on easing the current border situation.” “Currently, our front line troops are disengaging on the ground in accordance with the consensus reached by the Military Corps Commander talks,” he said. Chinese, Indian border troops have taken ‘effective measures’ to disengage along LAC: China Mr. Sun reiterated the recent statement made by Mr. Wang on July 5 that “the right and wrong of what recently happened at Galwan Valley is very clear” and that “China will firmly safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and ensure the peace and tranquility in the border areas.” Economic ties On recent calls to “decouple” India-China economic relations, he said “any self-protection, non-tariff barriers and restrictive measures against China are unfair to Chinese enterprises, unfair to Indian employees who lost their jobs as a result, and unfair to Indian consumers who can not get access to the products and services they deserve.” He said, “I believe China and India have the wisdom and capability to properly handle differences and not fall into the trap of conflict.