State of border linked to ties, expect China to work sincerely for total disengagement, de-escalation: India

New Delhi [India], Aug 14 (ANI): India said on Friday that it expects China to sincerely work with it towards the objective of complete disengagement and de-escalation and full restoration of peace and tranquillity in the border areas as agreed by the special representatives.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said at a virtual media briefing that the state of the border and future of bilateral ties cannot be separated.
He said India and China remain engaged through both diplomatic and military channels to ensure complete disengagement along India-China border areas.
"This is in accordance with the agreement of the special representatives of India and China that early and complete disengagement of the troops along the Line of Actual Control and de-escalation from India-China border areas in accordance with bilateral agreements and protocols," he said.
The spokesperson said that full restoration of peace and tranquillity was essential for the smooth, overall development of bilateral relations.
He said that several meeting of WMCC and also of senior commanders have taken place wherein both sides have discussed the implementation of the ongoing disengagement process and further steps to ensure it is completed at the earliest.
"Further meetings are likely to happen in the near future. I had conveyed last month that both sides have agreement on broad principles of disengagement and based on it some progress had been earlier made," he said.
"I must add that translating these principles on ground is a complex process that requires redeployment of troops by each side towards the regular posts on the respective side of LAC," he added.
Srivastava said it is natural that this can be done only through mutually agreed reciprocal actions.
"While we would like the ongoing disengagement process to be completed at the earliest, it is important to bear in mind that achieving this requires agreed actions by both sides. We, therefore, expect the Chinese side to sincerely work with us towards the objective of complete disengagement and de-escalation and full restoration of peace and tranquillity in the border areas as agreed by the special representatives," he said.
The spokesperson said this is also necessary and essential in the context of overall development of bilateral relations. "As External Affairs Minister had noted in a recent interview, the state of the border and future of our ties cannot be separated," he said.
Indian Ambassador to China, Vikram Misri, today met Major General Ci Guowei, Director of Office of International Military Cooperation of Central Military Commission, China, and briefed him on India's stance on the situation in Eastern Ladakh and overall bilateral relations, the Indian Embassy in China said in a tweet. (ANI)