At BRICS,Modi, Chinese Prez agree on "expeditious de-escalation" in Ladakh

JOHANNESBURG: Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in which he highlighted India's concerns at the unresolved issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh with the two leaders agreeing to direct their relevant officials "to intensify efforts at expeditious disengagement and de-escalation".

Addressing a press conference on India’s participation at the 15th BRICS summit, Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said Prime Minister Modi had interactions with other BRICS leaders during the summit.

He said PM Modi in his conversation with the Chinese President underlined that the maintenance of peace in the border areas and observing and respecting the LAC are essential for the normalisation of the India-China ties.

"Prime Minister had interactions with other BRICS leaders. In a conversation with President Xi Jinping of China, the Prime Minister highlighted India's concerns on the unresolved issues along the LAC in the western sector of the India-China border areas. Prime Minister underlined that the maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the border areas and observing and respecting the LAC are essential for the normalisation of the India-China relationship," Kwatra said.

"In this regard, the two leaders agreed to direct their relevant officials to intensify efforts at expeditious disengagement and de-escalation," he added. India and China held the 19th round of Corps Commander Level talks earlier this month at the Chushul-Moldo meeting point on the Indian side.

Ministry of External Affairs had said in a statement that the two sides had a positive, constructive and in-depth discussion on the resolution of the remaining issues along the LAC in the Western Sector.

“In line with the guidance provided by the leadership, they exchanged views in an open and forward-looking manner. They agreed to resolve the remaining issues in an expeditious manner and maintain the momentum of dialogue and negotiations through military and diplomatic channels. In the interim, the two sides agreed to maintain the peace and tranquility on the ground in the border areas,” the statement said.

There has been disengagement from some friction points along LAC in eastern Ladakh following a stand-off between India and China in April 2020 due to the actions of the Chinese army.