External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said that the stand-off with China in eastern Ladakh is the most serious situation since the 1962 Indo-China war.
In an interview with Rediff.com, the External Affairs Minister said, "This is surely the most serious situation after 1962. In fact, after 45 years, we have had military casualties on this border. The quantum of forces currently deployed by both sides at the LAC is also unprecedented."
Jaishankar is likely to attend the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), scheduled to be held in Moscow, Russia later this year. During his visit, Jaishankar may meet his Chinese counterpart and discuss measures to be undertaken to resolve the months-long border dispute.
If Jaishankar meets Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, this will be their first in-person meeting. Both had earlier spoken during a Russia-India-China virtual conference in June, a few days after the border row between India and China escalated.
As per the Indian Express report, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson, Anurag Srivastava on August 27 said that the EAM has received an invitation to participate in a meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Moscow in September.
"As soon as we have our decision on his participation, we will inform you," Srivastava said, as per the report.
Speaking about the LAC standoff, Srivastava on August 17 said that complete disengagement of troops in eastern Ladakh can be achieved only through mutually agreed reciprocal actions and also highlighted resolution of border incidents with China in the past through diplomacy.
"As I had conveyed earlier, complete disengagement requires re-deployment of troops by each side towards their regular posts on their respective sides of the LAC. It is natural that this can be done only through mutually agreed reciprocal actions. Thus it is important to bear in mind that achieving this requires agreed actions by both sides," he said, as per a PTI report.
Srivastava said the two sides at the last meeting of the WMCC had agreed to resolve the outstanding issues in an expeditious manner and in accordance with the existing agreements and protocols.
"Both sides also agree that full restoration of peace and tranquillity in the border areas would be essential for the overall development of bilateral relations. The two sides had also agreed to continue their engagements both through diplomatic and military channels," he said.
The tension between the two sides escalated manifold after the violent clashes in Galwan Valley on June 15 in which 20 Indian Army personnel were killed. The Chinese side also suffered casualties but it is yet to give out the details.
(With inputs from PTI)
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