New Delhi: India on Friday said the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China is periodically disturbed when Chinese forces deviate from established patrolling patterns, as the government responded to reports of continuing confrontations between the two sides in Arunachal Pradesh.
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said both countries were using existing diplomatic and military mechanisms to resolve outstanding issues and prevent misunderstandings along the border.
“As we have noted in the past, the situation in the India-China border areas gets disturbed from time to time when Chinese forces diverge from established patrolling patterns,” Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing.
He added that the two sides had agreed to discuss ways to improve their understanding of the LAC in certain areas to strengthen border management. “The maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the border areas is essential for the overall development of bilateral relations,” he said, referring questions about the specific reported confrontations to the Ministry of Defence.
The clarification followed reports that Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Director General Shatrujeet Kapoor had spoken of continuing face-offs with Chinese troops at several locations along the Arunachal Pradesh border.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge criticised the government over the reported remarks, asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi to clarify the situation and address Parliament.
“The ITBP DG's confirmation of continuing PLA face-offs in Arunachal Pradesh is deeply alarming,” Kharge said, questioning whether India’s patrolling access had been compromised and why the public had not been fully informed.
Kharge also questioned the results of repeated diplomatic engagements between India and China, including meetings between Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, rounds of Special Representative talks and meetings of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC). He asked whether India’s patrolling rights that existed before May 2020 had been fully restored.
The two countries held the 25th round of Special Representative talks on the boundary question in Beijing on August 25. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining peace and tranquillity along the border and creating conditions for stable bilateral relations.
They also agreed that situations on the ground should be addressed promptly through existing diplomatic and military channels, including the WMCC and local commander-level meetings, to resolve outstanding issues and avoid miscalculation along the LAC.
(With agency inputs from ANI and PTI)