No Business As Usual With China Until 'Complete Disengagement' Of Troops Along LAC In Ladakh: Indian Envoy To Russia

The Indian Envoy's comments come in the backdrop of Chinese Army (PLA) not honoring their commitment for disengagement of troops at the friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh and not withdrawing from their current ground position as per the agreed terms during the multiple rounds of talks at the government and Army level over the past few weeks.

Image (PTI)

India's Ambassador to Russia B Venkatesh Varma on Thursday came out with a hard hitting message for China that it won't be business as usual with the East Asian nation until and unless there is "complete disengagement" of troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh sector accordance with the bilateral agreements and protocals agreed upon by the nations . Speaking exclusively to Russian newspapaer Izvestia on the border row between India and China in the Eastern Ladakh sector, Indian Ambassador to Russia Verma said, "We have made it clear that we will not do business with China as usual until there is a complete disengagement of military forces along the Line of Actual Control and de-escalation in the border areas in accordance with bilateral agreements and protocols. As Prime Minister Modi noted, this is an era of development, and the era of expansion has come to an end." The Indian Envoy's comments come in the backdrop of Chinese Army (PLA) not honoring their commitment for disengagement of troops at the friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh and not withdrawing from their current ground position as per the agreed terms during the multiple rounds of talks at the government and Army level over the past few weeks. "The Chinese have not shown any signs of de-escalation as they continue to maintain their heavy troop deployment of almost 40,000 troops supported by heavy weaponry like air defence systems, armoured personnel carriers and long-range artillery in front and depth areas," sources had said. "India-China negotiating through diplomatic and military channels about the situation on Line of Actual Control in border areas between the two countries. Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and NSA Ajit Doval have conducted talks with their Chinese counterparts," Varma said. "While India seeks to resolve these problems through dialogue, we've made it clear we won't do business with China as usual until there's complete disengagement of military forces along LAC & de-escalation in border areas in accordance with bilateral agreements," the Indian Envoy added added. Indian Army and Chinese troops have been engaged in a standoff along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh sector since May which has led to simmering tensions betweeen the two neighbouring countries on the diplomatic front. The heated escalation on ground took an ugly turn on June 15 on account of a massive face-off between the troops in the Galwan Valley region which led to casualties on both sides. Since that incident, India and China have held multiple rounds both at the military level and diplomatic channels to de-escalate the ground situation and simmer down the tensions.