India, China agree to set up hotline for sorting out issues

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 26

India and China have agreed to set up a hotline between their Foreign Ministers to sort out issues even as New Delhi told Beijing that disengagement of troops at all friction points was a must for de-escalation in eastern Ladakh.

The new hotline will be in addition to the agreed-upon military hotline between the Army’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) and Chinese PLA’s Western Theatre Command.

The two nations had initially signed an agreement in 2010 to set up a hotline between the two Premiers, but it failed to materialise. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said both sides had agreed to set up a communication hotline to exchange opinions in a “timely” manner.

Releasing details of the 75-minute telephonic talk between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, the MEA said the two “discussed the situation along the LAC in eastern Ladakh and issues related to overall India-China tiess”.

Jaishankar was upfront about China’s “provocative behaviour and unilateral attempts to alter the status quo. “It is necessary to disengage at all friction points to contemplate de-escalation of forces in this sector. That alone will lead to restoration of peace and provide conditions for progress of bilateral relationship,” he said.

Wang’s observations released by the Foreign Office quoted him as saying that the “border issue is not the whole story of China-India ties, and should be placed in a proper position in their relationship”. Wang also said India had “vacillated and even moved backward over its policy on China, affecting pragmatic cooperation”.