Attempts to change status quo last year have inevitably affected ties, EAM S Jaishankar said

Unilateral change of status quo is not acceptable, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told China's State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi during a meeting on Wednesday.

Full restoration and maintenance of peace and tranquility in the border areas was essential for the development of India-China ties, Jaishankar said.

Discussions during the hour-long meeting on the sidelines of the SCO Foreign Ministers Meeting in Dushanbe focused on the outstanding issues along the LAC in the Western Sector, EAM Jaishankar said on Twitter.

"Concluded a one-hour bilateral meeting with State Councilor and FM Wang Yi of China on the sidelines of Dushanbe SCO Foreign Ministers Meeting.

Discussions focused on the outstanding issues along the LAC in the Western Sector," he said.

https://twitter.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1415311691957432321?s=19

"Highlighted that unilateral change of status quo is not acceptable. Full restoration and maintenance of peace and tranquility in border areas is essential for development of our ties.

Agreed on convening an early meeting of the Senior Military Commanders," he said in a subsequent tweet.

https://twitter.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1415311698370592769?s=19

The Ministry of External Affairs later said the two Ministers had a detailed exchange of views on the current situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh and also on other issues related to the overall India-China relations.

Recalling their last meeting in Moscow, in September 2020, the External Affairs Minister emphasized the need to follow through on the agreement reached then and complete the disengagement, resolving the remaining issues along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh at the earliest.

Jaishankar pointed out that the successful disengagement in the Pangong Lake Area earlier this year had created conditions for resolving the remaining issues. It was expected that the Chinese side would work with us towards this objective.

Jaishankar, however, noted that the situation in remaining areas was still unresolved.

He recalled that both sides had agreed that a prolongation of the existing situation was not in the interest of either side and it
was visibly impacting the relationship in a negative manner.

The maintenance of peace and tranquility in the border areas has been the foundation for the development of ties since 1988, EAM Jaishankar added.

The attempts to change status quo last year that also disregarded commitments under the 1993 and 1996 agreements have inevitably affected ties, the MEA quoted Jaishankar as saying during the meeting.

It was, therefore, in mutual interest that the two sides work towards early resolution of the remaining issues along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh, while fully abiding by bilateral agreements and protocols, he said.

According to the MEA, the two Ministers noted the agreement between both sides in the last meeting of the WMCC on 25 June 2021 to hold another round of the Meeting of Senior Military Commanders. "They agreed that this should be convened at the earliest," the ministry said.

They also agreed that in this meeting, the two sides should discuss all the remaining issues and seek a mutually acceptable solution. There was also an understanding that both sides will continue to ensure stability on the ground and neither side will take any unilateral action that could increase tension.