China announces troop disengagement at 4 border points, including Galwan
China announced on Friday that it has disengaged its troops from four locations in eastern Ladakh, including the Galwan Valley. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning stated that the border situation between India and China is generally stable and under control. This announcement follows a meeting in Russia where both nations agreed to work together to improve bilateral ties.
India-China meeting in Russia discussed border issues
"On September 12, Director Wang Yi met with India's National Security Adviser Ajit Doval in St. Petersburg. The two sides discussed progress made in recent consultation on border issues and agreed to deliver on the common understandings reached by leaders of the two countries," Mao said. The meeting took place on the sidelines of a conclave of national security advisors from BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa).
Disengagement progress in India-China border conflict
Mao confirmed that the Chinese and Indian militaries have achieved disengagement in four areas along the Western sector of their shared border. "In recent years, front-line armies of the two countries have realized disengagement in four areas...including the Galwan Valley. The China-India border situation is generally stable and under control," she stated. The announcement shortly came after India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that about 75% of the "disengagement problems" with China are sorted out.
Jaishankar's remarks on India-China border conflict
Jaishankar, during an interactive session at a think-tank in Geneva, stated that the Galwan Valley clashes of June 2020 affected the "entirety" of India-China ties. He asserted that one cannot have violence at the border and then say the rest of the relationship is insulated from it. "Now those negotiations are going on. We made some progress. I would say roughly you can say about 75% of the disengagement problems are sorted out," he was quoted as saying by PTI.
India-China agree to work with 'urgency' on disengagement
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) also stated that India and China have agreed to work with "urgency" and "redouble" their efforts to achieve complete disengagement in the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh. The MEA stated that the discussion between Doval and Wang provided an opportunity to evaluate the recent efforts toward finding an early resolution to the unresolved issues.
