WMCC meet: India and China agree to ensure peace at LAC

New Delhi, Mar 13: India and China agreed to ensure stability in the eastern Ladakh of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and conduct another meeting of senior military commanders soon to take forward disengagement and de-escalation at friction points on the disputed border.

 

 

 

These were statements that came after a virtual meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on border affairs was held on Friday. It was held to discuss the disengagement process after the withdrawal of troops by both sides from the north and south banks of Pangong Lake in February.

 

 

It should be noted that the meeting was held hours before the first summit of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or Quad, which will be joined by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and US President Joe Biden.

 

At the WMCC meeting, the two sides reviewed the situation in the western sector of the LAC and had “in-depth discussions on the remaining issues” in this sector, a statement from the external affairs ministry said. It further added that they agreed to continue their dialogue through diplomatic and military channels to “reach a mutually acceptable solution for complete disengagement from all friction points at the earliest”.

 

 

Both the sides also agreed to convene the 11th meeting of the senior military commanders “at an early date so that two sides could work towards complete disengagement from the remaining friction areas”.

 

It said that the disengagement would enable both sides to “look at broader de-escalation of troops in the area and work towards restoration of peace and tranquillity in the border areas”. The two sides further agreed that in the interim period, they would “continue to maintain stability at ground level and prevent any untoward incident”, the statement said.

 

The WMCC meet was co-chaired additional secretary (East Asia) Naveen Srivastava of the external affairs ministry and Hong Liang, director general of the boundary and oceanic department of China’s foreign ministry.

 

The 10th meeting of the senior military commanders was held on February 20 after the two sides completed the withdrawal of frontline troops with armoured formations and artillery from the banks of Pangong Lake. However, the two sides were unable to make progress on efforts to disengage at other friction points such as Gogra, Hot Springs and Depsang Plains.

 

 

The two sides have been locked in a standoff since May last year after Chinese troops impeded patrols by Indian forces and there were scuffles in the Ladakh and Sikkim sectors. A brutal clash at Galwan Valley last June – which left 20 Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese troops dead and was the first incident on the LAC involving fatalities since 1975 – took bilateral ties to an all-time low.

 

India has insisted that China’s actions on the LAC have seriously damaged bilateral ties and normalcy can be restored only by disengagement, de-escalation and restoration of the status quo on the border.

 

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