Eastern Ladakh Border Row: Situation Not Normal Yet, Some Steps To Be Taken, Says MEA

MEA On Eastern Ladakh Border: India expects disengagement followed by de-escalation for the return of normalcy on the border, which could pave the way for normal ties between the two countries. 

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday said that the situation in eastern Ladakh has not returned to the stage of full normalcy as some steps are yet to be taken for it, news agency PTI reported. 

In response to a question concerning the words made by the Chinese envoy, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi stated that "certain steps are necessary for full normalcy, we have not reached there."

"We have not reached there.... I would not like to say that the situation is normal. There have been some positive steps, but some steps are yet to be taken," he stated, PTI reported. 

Bagchi made the remarks days after Chinese envoy Sun Weidong asserted that the situation in eastern Ladakh is "overall stable" as a result of the parties' transition from "emergency response" to "normalised" management following the clashes in the Galwan valley in June 2020.

According to the MEA spokesperson, India expects disengagement followed by de-escalation for the return of normalcy on the border, which could pave the way for normal ties between the two neighbouring countries. 

Bagchi also mentioned External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's statement last month that the disengagement at Patrolling Point 15 (PP-15) in eastern Ladakh was "one problem less" on the border.

Despite the fact that the two sides have disengaged from Patrolling Point 15, the impasse in the Demchok and Depsang regions has not yet been resolved, PTI reports.

Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari, the chief of the Indian Air Force (IAF), stated on Tuesday that the return to the pre-standoff status quo and a full troop pullout from all flashpoints would serve as the benchmark for the situation in eastern Ladakh to return to normal, news agency PTI reported. 

After the standoff in eastern Ladakh, India has continued to insist that maintaining peace along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is essential for the growth of its relations with China as a whole and that the condition of the border will decide the state of the bilateral relationship.

(With Inputs From PTI)