LAC Situation ‘Very Fragile, Dangerous’, China Has To Deliver What Was Agreed To: S Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar put the onus on China to resolve the tensions. He said that bilateral relations between India and China cannot return to normalcy until the border row is resolved.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said that the situation between India and China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh is “fragile” and “dangerous”. He said that bilateral relations cannot return to normalcy until the border row is resolved.

“The situation to my mind still remains very fragile because there are places where our deployments are very close up and in military assessment therefore quite dangerous,” Jaishankar said at India Today Conclave, as quoted by news agency Reuters.

He emphasised that India-China relations cannot go back to normal until the border issue is resolved in line with the September 2020 in-principle agreement he reached with his Chinese counterpart.

He put the onus on China to resolve the tensions, saying: “The Chinese have to deliver on what was agreed to, and they have struggled with that”.

The Minister mentioned that forces from both sides have disengaged from many areas after a series of talks between both countries and discussions are going on over unresolved points.

“We have made it very clear to the Chinese that we cannot have a breach of peace and tranquility, you can‘t violate agreement and want the rest of the relationship to continue as though nothing happened. That’s just not tenable,” he said, as quoted by Reuters.

Jaishankar revealed about his discussion with China’s new foreign minister Qin Gang on the sidelines of a meeting of the foreign ministers of the G20 nations hosted by New Delhi earlier this month.

“When I met Wang Yi, we came to an understanding on how to resolve the border crisis. Now I’ve met with the new foreign minister Qin Gang. I have made it clear that we cannot have a breach of peace then continue the rest of the relationship like nothing happened,” he said, as quoted by an India Today report.

Speaking at the India Today Conclave 2023, Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande on Friday said that “the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is stable but we need to keep a very close watch on the situation as it develops”.

“Till the time a resolution happens, our deployment of forces, our alertness level will continue to remain of a very high level,” news agency PTI quoted him as saying.

The LAC standoff is yet to be completely resolved. In 2021 and 2022, India and China disengaged from the north and south banks of the Pangong Tso, Gogra, and from Gogra-Hot Springs (PP-15) after the 16th round of military talks.

Both sides will have to resolve Demchok, Depsang (PP 9 – 13) even as Chinese troops continue to block PP 10, 11, 11A, 12 and 13, according to sources.