India-China LAC situation stable but sensitive, says Defence Ministry
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has described the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China as “stable but sensitive”. This assessment comes two months after India and China announced a patrolling arrangement and disengagement of troops from the LAC in Eastern Ladakh.
The 3,488-km long LAC, which runs along the Himalayan ridgeline, is the de-facto boundary between India and China. Following prolonged negotiations, a broad consensus was achieved on October 21 to restore the ground situation based on principles of equal and mutual security.
As part of this consensus, troops have disengaged and relocated from friction areas like Depsang and Demchok, followed by joint verification. Patrolling activity has also commenced in traditional areas.
Since the announcement, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval has met with Wang Yi in Beijing. These talks aimed to maintain a political perspective on the bilateral relationship while seeking a fair and mutually acceptable framework for settling the boundary question.
The resumption of Special Representatives (SR)-level talks was agreed upon when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the 16th BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, in October. India has suggested a graded three-step process at the military level for the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The first step, disengagement of troops within close proximity of each other in grey zones along the LAC, was completed by the end of October, restoring positions to those prior to April 2020.
The next two steps – de-escalation and de-induction – entail pulling back troops and equipment to pre-April 2020 levels. One of the remaining issues to be resolved is the significant build-up of troops, tanks, missiles, guns, drones, and fighter jets on both sides of the LAC. Since the military standoff began in April 2020, India and China have established new military garrisons and added infrastructure along the 3,488-km long LAC.
The MoD also addressed the situation along the 749-km Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan in its ‘year-end review’. The situation along the LoC has remained peaceful since the Director General Military Operations (DGsMO) Understandings of February 2021. The Indian Army continues to monitor the situation closely and remains prepared to respond to any escalation along the LoC.
According to the MoD, the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir has seen steady improvement since the abrogation of Article 370, despite intermittent spikes in violence.
