EAM S Jaishankar On India-China: 'Disengagement Achieved In Full In Ladakh' - VIDEO

The Union Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar on Tuesday said that full disengagement has been achieved in Ladakh and that there has been considerable improvement in the bilateral ties between India and China. While addressing the Lok Sabha, briefly on the border situation between India and China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), during the Winter Session of the Parliament, the EAM said that India's priority is to continue de-escalation. 

“Recent developments that reflect continuous diplomatic engagements have set Indo-China ties in the direction of some improvement. Disengagement has been achieved in full in eastern Ladakh," said the External Affairs Minister.

S Jaishankar also said that the recent developments show that India's continuous diplomatic engagement with China has set ties in the direction of improvement, adding that the House is aware of the fact that China has illegally occupied 38,000 square km of the Indian territory.  Taking a full review of the situation along the northern borders and the multi-level engagements between the two countries, Jaishankar said - “We have been very clear that the restoration of peace and tranquillity would be the basis for the rest of the relationship to move forward. Since 2020, our engagement was, therefore focused on that objective,” he added.

“The interactions were naturally very tightly coordinated with the combined presence in the negotiations of both diplomatic and military officials. Since June 2020, 17 meetings of the WMCC and 21 rounds of SHMC have taken place,” Jaishankar said.

Recalling the historic aggression by Beijing, Jaishankar further said that China is in Illegal occupation of 38,000 km² of Indian territory in Aksai Chin as a result of the 1962 conflicts and the event that preceded it.