China agrees to pull back front-line soldiers from face-off scenes but mum on withdrawing additional PLA troops amassed in rear

China keeps mum on withdrawal of additional troops from its side of LAC, but India says both sides agreed on phased de-escalation in border areas too

India and China agreed to expeditiously complete the disengagement of troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval, had a “frank and in-depth exchange of views” with Chinese Foreign Minister and State Councilor, Wang Yi, over the phone.

New Delhi on Monday stated that the two sides also agreed to gradually withdraw additional troops the Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had deployed in the border areas over the past few weeks. They agreed to “ensure a phased and stepwise de-escalation in India-China border areas”, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated in a press release issued in New Delhi on the talks between Doval and Wang – the special representatives of the two governments for strategic consultations and boundary negotiations.

Read: China withdraws troops, tents in Galwan Valley

The statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Chinese Government in Beijing, however, did not have any reference to the agreement reached by the two sides for de-escalation in border areas. It only stated that Doval and Wang stressed on promptly acting “on the consensus reached” in the talks between the senior commanders of the Indian Army and the Chinese PLA and complete disengagement of the front-line troops as soon as possible”.

India has been alleging that China amassed a large number of soldiers along the LAC between the two nations since early May, flouting the 1993 bilateral agreement, which required each side to “keep its military forces in the areas along the LAC to a minimum level”.

The Indian Army too had to respond to the build-up by the Chinese PLA with “counter-deployment” resulting in the stand-off, which witnessed a violent face-off at Galwan Valley on June 15 resulting in casualties on both sides and already entered into the third month.

New Delhi has been insisting on not only disengagement of front-line troops of the Indian Army and the Chinese PLA on the scenes of the face-offs along the LAC, but also withdrawal of additional troops the communist country army deployed on its sides of the disputed boundary.

The phone-call between Doval and Wang on Sunday was the first engagement between the two Special Representatives after the current stand-off between the Indian Army and the Chinese PLA in eastern Ladakh started in the first week of May. They re-affirmed that “both sides should strictly respect and observe the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and should not take any unilateral action to alter the status quo and work together to avoid any incident in the future that could disturb peace and tranquility in border areas”, according to MEA press release issued in New Delhi.

New Delhi has been blaming Beijing for the stand-off, alleging that the Chinese PLA had tried to unilaterally change the status quo along the LAC, which serves as the de facto boundary between the two nations in western sector.

Doval and Wang agreed that while the talks between the diplomats and the senior military officials would continue to implement the understanding reached so far to resolve the stand-off; they, themselves, would also remain in touch to “ensure full and enduring restoration of peace and tranquility in the India-China border areas in accordance with the bilateral agreements and protocols”.

The two Special Representatives agreed reaffirmed the consensus reached by Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping during two “informal summits” in April 2018 and October 2019 that maintenance of peace and tranquility in the India-China border areas was essential for the further development of bilateral relations and that the two sides should not allow differences to become disputes.