Foreign Ministers' Moscow Agreement To Guide India, China Border Affairs

The agreement reached during last year's exchanges between Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Moscow should continue to guide the work of the two sides in de-escalation and restoration of peace along the LAC, a meeting of the two countries' teams on border affairs agreed today. The two sides also agreed to continue the dialogue to reach a "mutually acceptable solution for complete disengagement from all friction points at the earliest".

The meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on India-China Border Affairs, the 21st till date, was held today, according to a release by the Ministry of External Affairs.

"The two sides reviewed the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Western Sector and had in-depth discussions on the remaining issues along the LAC in the Western sector," the release said.

The meeting also agreed that the two sides must, in the interim, maintain stability at ground level and prevent any untoward incident.

In September last year, Mr Jaishankar had met Mr Wang in Moscow on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meet. The meeting took place amid a tense stand-off along the LAC between the two armies, with reports of physical fights along the Pangong Tso lake and the Galwan Valley in Ladakh.

Later, in February this year, the two leaders spoke for over 75 minutes over a phone call, looking for a solution. Only a few days earlier, the respective armies had begun to withdraw their troops amassed along the border.

"They agreed that the completion of the disengagement in North and South Bank of the Pangong Lake provided a good basis for the two sides to work towards an early resolution of the remaining issues," the Ministry's statement today said.

The two sides also agreed to maintain close communication and dialogue through both the diplomatic and military charges.