Jaishankar stresses need to respect border agreements amid Beijing’s silence on LAC patrolling pact

Modi left for home after his meeting Wednesday with Xi where the two leaders underlined the “importance of properly handling differences and disputes”. Xi also called for “more communication and cooperation” and said “people in our two countries and the international community are paying great attention to our meeting”.

In New Delhi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said broad consensus had been achieved following talks between the two countries to “restore the ground situation”, including patrolling and grazing in traditional areas.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan. (Photo: AP)

Speaking at the Chanakya Defence Dialogue programme organised by the Indian Army and the Centre for Land Warfare Studies, Singh said, “India and China have been involved in talks, both at diplomatic and military levels, to resolve their differences in certain areas along the LAC. Pursuant to the talks, broad consensus has been achieved to restore the ground situation based on the principles of equal and mutual security.”

“The consensus achieved includes patrolling and grazing in traditional areas. This is the power of engaging in continuous dialogue because sooner or later, solutions will emerge,” he said.

In Kazan, Jaishankar said, “Addressing conflicts and tensions effectively is a particular need of the day. Prime Minister Modi has emphasised that this is not an era of war. Disputes and differences must be settled by dialogue and diplomacy. Agreements, once reached, must be scrupulously respected. International law should be adhered to, without exception.”

On Monday, on the eve of Modi’s visit to Kazan, Delhi had announced that an “agreement has been arrived on patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control in the India-China border areas, leading to disengagement and a resolution of the issues that had arisen in these areas in 2020”.

A day later, China said “the two sides have reached a solution on the relevant matters, which China views positively. In the next phase, China will work with India to effectively implement the solution plan.” While Beijing did not mention the patrolling arrangement, the reference to the “solution plan” was interpreted as confirmation of the LAC arrangement.

The announcements by India and China, followed by the Modi-Xi bilateral meeting, the first in five years, were seen as first steps to revive ties frozen ever since Chinese incursions in eastern Ladakh in 2020.

Following the Modi-Xi bilateral meeting, the Chinese and Indian readouts reflected some divergence. Only Modi made a reference to the border pact, while the Chinese statement just talked about “important progress”. Xi did not refer to the border pact at all.

The Indian readout said the Prime Minister welcomed “the recent agreement for complete disengagement and resolution of issues that arose in 2020 in the India-China border areas”. The Chinese statement said, “The two leaders commended the important progress the two sides had recently made through intensive communication on resolving the relevant issues in the border areas.”

Ever since the crisis began, Delhi’s stance has been that until the border standoff is resolved, there cannot be business as usual in the overall bilateral ties. Beijing’s position has been that the border issue should not impact bilateral ties.

The Chinese readout, in fact, said as much: “It is in the fundamental interest of our two countries and two peoples to keep to the trend of history and the right direction of bilateral relations… They should maintain a sound strategic perception of each other, and work together to find the right and bright path for big, neighbouring countries to live in harmony and develop side by side… They agreed to… prevent specific disagreements from affecting the overall relationship.”

The Indian statement said, “Prime Minister Modi underscored the importance of properly handling differences and disputes and not allowing them to disturb peace and tranquillity.” It said “the leaders affirmed that stable, predictable, and amicable bilateral relations… will have a positive impact on regional and global peace”.

This is also reflected in the next steps outlined differently in the two readouts. The Indian readout clearly said that the Special Representatives “will meet at an early date to oversee the management of peace and tranquillity in border areas and to explore a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution to the boundary question”.

The Chinese readout, on the other hand, said, “The two sides agreed on holding talks between their Foreign Ministers and officials at various levels to bring the relationship back to sound and steady development at an early date.”

Jaishankar said, “We meet in difficult circumstances. The world must be prepared to think afresh on longstanding challenges. Our gathering is a message that we are indeed prepared to do so.”

The Outreach/BRICS Plus is an extended format – it includes the BRICS members – and was attended by delegates from nearly 40 countries, including leaders of a number of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Asian, African, West Asian and Latin American countries. It also had heads of international organisations, including UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.