'No visible expression on ground': Jaishankar after 9th round of India-China talks
06 Feb 2021 17:23:58
New Delhi, Feb 6: "No visible expression on ground," said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday referring to talks that have been going on for few months between India and China. The talks, however, will continue, the minister said.
"The disengagement talks... because it is a very complicated issue... because it depends on troops, you have to know the geography (like) which position and what is happening, this is being done by the military commanders," he said replying to a question on whether there would be any ministerial-level talks between the two countries.
There have been nine rounds of military-level talks over the disengagement of troops from eastern Ladakh since May 5, 2020, when India and Chinese troops got engaged in skirmishes on the border. Talking about the present situation, Jaishankar said, "So, military commanders have held nine rounds of meetings so far. We believe some progress has been made, but it is not, in a kind of situation where there is a visible expression of that on the ground."
"Right now the military commanders are talking and they will continue to talk," he added.
Amid the ongoing talks, fresh clashes between Indian and China soldiers were reported in north Sikkim at Naku La in January when Chinese soldiers were pushed back after they made attempts to intrude into Indian territory. Indian Army said it was a minor face-off, which got resolved by local commanders.
Besides, Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held discussion with their counterparts of China last year and agreed that they should disengage in some parts. Jaishankar has also spoken about eight principles to resolve the India-China issues, including mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interests.