India-China Relation / What are India and China waiting for after the withdrawal of troops from LAC?

India-China Relation: India's Foreign Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday openly expressed his views on the ongoing India-China border dispute in eastern Ladakh. He said that although there has been an agreement to withdraw the troops of both the countries from the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the situation of peace and stability on the border has still not been restored. Jaishankar said that this agreement to withdraw the troops will soon be implemented as per the satisfaction of all the parties.

Jaishankar made this remark during a conversation with Justin Bassi, Executive Director of the "think tank" Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) in Australia. During the conversation, Jaishankar was asked about the direction of India-China relations in the coming days.

Agreement to withdraw troops and hope for stability in Ladakh

India recently announced on 21 October that an agreement has been reached with China regarding patrolling the LAC in eastern Ladakh, ending the four-year-long military standoff between the two armies. After this, Jaishankar said that progress is being made in the direction of reducing tensions on the LAC, but at present work on the stability of the situation is still pending.

Jaishankar clarified that there is currently a much greater deployment on the border than the military deployment near the LAC before 2020. He said that in such a situation, "the only path of dialogue" is the right path to the solution. He believes that the solution to these challenges is possible only through dialogue and agreement at the strategic level.

From the Galwan Valley incident to the current efforts

After the clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020, India-China relations had deteriorated significantly. Since this clash, tensions between the two countries increased and the deployment of troops increased. Jaishankar said that his priority is to restore the normal situation before 2020, which includes regular patrolling and a state of stability on the border. He says that the process of withdrawal of troops has now been completed, and the work of implementation on this will also be completed in the coming days.

Importance of peace on the border and improvement in bilateral relations

Jaishankar stressed that India believes that peace and stability in the border areas is essential for the development of India-China relations. He also drew attention to the fact that in the recent bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the two leaders agreed on the need for stability on the border. It was also decided in this meeting that the Foreign Ministers and National Security Advisors of both the countries will meet their counterparts to find ways to improve relations.

Attempts to balance the future relations of the two countries

Jaishankar confirmed that relations between India and China, especially in the post-2020 period, have been greatly affected. India believes that improvement in relations between the two countries is possible only when there is peace and stability on the border. He said that the solution to the border dispute is possible only through diplomacy and dialogue, and on this basis bilateral relations can be brought to normal.

Conclusion

The withdrawal of troops of both the countries from the recent agreement in the ongoing border dispute between India and China is a positive step. However, Jaishankar believes that this is just the beginning and more efforts are needed to ensure peace and stability on the border in the future. The Indian government is fully committed in this direction and is trying to resolve this matter soon so that a tension-free environment is created on the border and the relations between the two countries can be balanced and improved.