EAM Jaishankar meets Chinese counterpart, says LAC must be respected

NEW DELHI — External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Thursday met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in the Kazakhstan capital Astana, and said that the “Line of Actual Control (LAC) must be respected and peace and tranquillity in the border areas be always enforced”.

The two met on the sidelines of the SCO Meeting of the Council of Heads of State and discussed bilateral issues ranging from restoring border peace to rebuilding relations.

Agreeing that the prolongation of the current situation in the border areas is not in the interest of either side, the two Ministers had an “in-depth exchange” of views on finding an early resolution of the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh to “stabilise and rebuild” bilateral relations, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.

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EAM Jaishankar emphasised the need to redouble efforts to achieve complete disengagement from the remaining areas in Eastern Ladakh and restore border peace and tranquillity.

He also reaffirmed the importance of fully abiding by relevant bilateral agreements, protocols, and understandings reached between the two governments in the past. The Line of Actual Control must be respected and peace and tranquillity in the border areas always enforced, the EAM said.

To resolve the remaining issues at the earliest, the leaders agreed to continue and step up meetings of the diplomatic and military officials.

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They agreed that the Working Mechanism on Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) should hold an early meeting.

The EAM reiterated that the India-China relationship is best served by observing the three mutuals — mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interests.

The two Ministers also exchanged views on the global situation.

EAM extended to FM Wang India’s support for China’s Presidency of SCO next year.