India asks China to match its words with actions, says violation of agreements by Chinese PLA resulted in LAC stand-off

New Delhi counters Beijing’s claim that it strictly adhered to pacts to maintain peace along disputed boundary

India on Friday asked China to “match its words with actions” after Beijing claimed that it strictly observed bilateral agreements to maintain peace and tranquillity along the disputed boundary between the two nations.

New Delhi dismissed Beijing’s bid to lay at its door the blame for the seven-month-long stand-off along the disputed boundary between the two nations in eastern Ladakh. Anurag Srivastava, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said the stand-off was the result of China’s actions “to effect a unilateral change in status along the Line of Actual Control (LAC)” with India. He said China’s actions violated the bilateral agreements and protocol it signed with India for ensuring peace and tranquillity along the LAC.

He reiterated New Delhi’s position that China had violated the 1993 and 1996 agreement it inked with India. The agreements required both sides to refrain from amassing a large number of troops in the border areas, to strictly abide by and respect the LAC and to avoid taking any unilateral action to alter it. He reiterated that China’s move to violate the agreements with India resulted in the stand-off.

Srivastava referred to the comment made by his Chinese counterpart Hua Chunying on Thursday.

Hua said China always strictly adhered to the agreements it signed with India, was committed to resolving the boundary dispute through negotiation and consultation and remained committed to maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas.

Srivastava tacitly countered the claim made by Hua and told journalists that India would expect China to match its words with actions.

His comment on the state of relations between the two nations came just a day after China hinted that its negotiation with India for resolution of the stand-off would remain suspended, unless New Delhi acted on the “consensus” the two sides had reached during earlier rounds of parleys.

Srivastava, however, said that India and China had continued to maintain communication through diplomatic and military channels.

“It is our expectation that the further discussions will help both sides to achieve an agreement on a mutually acceptable solution for ensuring complete disengagement in all friction points along the LAC in the western sector and full restoration of peace and tranquillity as early as possible,” he said in New Delhi.

The negotiation between India and China to pull back troops from the face-off points and resolve the stand-off along the LAC apparently hit an impasse once again.

The senior commanders of the Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had held the eighth round of talks on November 6. Though the talks had ended without any breakthrough, the two sides had agreed to have another round of meeting soon. But neither the military commanders, nor the diplomats of the two nations had any engagement in the past four weeks to end the stand-off.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar too on Wednesday alleged that China had violated its agreements with India and “literally brought tens of thousands of soldiers in full military preparation mode right to the LAC in Ladakh”. He said that Beijing had so far given New Delhi five differing explanations for its build-up along the LAC.

"Naturally, the relationship would be profoundly disturbed by this,” Jaishankar said.