India Says Border Areas Get Disturbed When Chinese Forces Deviate From Patrolling Patterns

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Friday said the “border areas get disturbed from time to time” when Chinese forces diverge from “established patrolling patterns.”

MEA Responds To ITBP Chief's Remarks On Faceoff

The remarks came after he was asked to comment on the remarks made by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) chief Shatrujeet Singh Kapoor on Thursday.

In his remarks, the ITBP chief spoke about an “ongoing faceoff” with Chinese forces in Arunachal Pradesh.

Jaiswal did not question their authenticity. He however pointed out that similar situations had arisen in the past and that both sides were using existing diplomatic and military mechanisms to resolve outstanding issues and avoid misunderstanding and miscalculations along the LAC.

“In so far as the specifics are concerned, I would refer you to the ministry of defence,” he said with regard to the latest incident.

India, China Reached Boundary Understanding In August

India and China had reached an understanding on the boundary issue after the 25th round of Special Representative (SR) talks in August this year. The talks which were held between NSA Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi reached an eight-point consensus which included maintaining peace and tranquillity along the LAC, pursuing an “Early and Substantial Harvest” solution to resolve the less contentious segments of the boundary issues and strengthening boundary management mechanisms.

China has far not commented on the ITBP chief’s or the MEA spokesperson’s remarks.

India, China To Discuss Better LAC Understanding

Jaiswal added that India remained in touch with China and the two sides had agreed to discuss ways to improve understanding of the LAC in appropriate areas for better border management. He emphasised that the maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the border areas is essential for the overall development of bilateral relations.