The stand-off between Indian and Chinese troops in Ladakh has been “resolved”, and both sides would retreat to old positions on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) by the end of this month, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj announced after a meeting with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi at the United Nations on Thursday.
In Beijing, China’s foreign ministry said the two countries can now work towards maintaining “peace and tranqullity in the border areas”.
Swaraj, who spoke to Indian reporters ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s arrival in New York, also blamed Islamabad for “spoiling” the scheduled secretary-level talks between the two countries last month.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was scheduled to address the UN General Assembly on Friday, and a top Pakistani official accompanying him told reporters here on Thursday that there was “no reason” for him to not raise the Kashmir issue in his speech.
“I am happy to tell you that both nations (India and China) have sat down and resolved the (LAC standoff) issue. Timelines have been decided,” Swaraj told Indian reporters after a meeting with IBSA (India-Brazil-South Africa) foreign ministers on the sidelines of the UNGA session.
Swaraj said she had met with Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi at the United Nations, and discussed the stand-off with him. Swaraj described the resolution of the matter as a “big accomplishment”.
Troops from the two sides lined up in Chumar in a face-off that began in the middle of the month, casting, Swaraj said, a “shadow” over the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to India, which was otherwise “very historical” and saw “very good outcomes”.
Swaraj said the withdrawal of the troops would begin on Friday and, by September 30, both sides would return to their September 1, 2014 positions along the LAC.
“The bad phase will end, and by September 30th, the withdrawal of troops will be completed. I talked about this with the Chinese Foreign Minister. I believe this is a big accomplishment,” Swaraj said. She described her meeting with Wang as “very successful”.
In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing on Friday, “As the Indian foreign minister said, the dispute has effectively been managed and the border area is in tranquillity. So we believe with the concerted efforts with India, we can maintain peace and tranquillity in the border area.”
Hua said foreign ministers Swaraj and Wang had also discussed bilateral issues at the meeting at the UN. “Wang said said President Xi has just concluded a successful and historical visit to India which advanced the friendship between the two leaders and two peoples,” she said.
On Pakistan, Swaraj said Islamabad “spoiled the game” by choosing to talk to Kashmiri separatist leaders a week before the scheduled August 25 meeting between foreign secretaries Sujatha Singh and Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhary in Islamabad. India called off the dialogue on continued…
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