Amid diplomatic talks, note of rancour

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 24

Even as Indian and Chinese diplomats today agreed to sincerely implement the understanding on disengagement and de-escalation that was reached by senior military commanders on June 6 and 22, official statements from Beijing continued to blame India for the June 15 Galwan valley clash.

• Editorial: Diplomatic downgrade

Interacting through video-conferencing, the 15th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) saw India convey its concerns on the recent developments in eastern Ladakh. It was emphasised that both sides should strictly respect and observe the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

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Taking place after almost a year, the meeting recalled the conversation last week between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in which they agreed to implement the June 6 understanding expeditiously.

In Beijing, spokespersons of the Foreign Affairs and Defence Ministries again injected a note of rancour, blaming India for the June 15 clash. The Defence Ministry, in particular, gave a graphic account of events that led to the clash. Asked why he was treading old ground when ice-breaking conversations had been held subsequently, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said he wanted to clarify the situation “because the MEA in India and also Indian media have made some false reports.’’ There has been no reaction from the MEA to this allegation so far.

However, both spokespersons later in their statements wound down the aggression, hoping the situation would cool down as soon as possible. Defence Ministry spokesperson Wu Qian termed China and India as “important neighbours to each other’’ and wanted both sides to make efforts to jointly ease the border situation.