China assures India that it is ready to find acceptable solution to resolve LAC standoff

The Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday said that the continuation of the standoff between India and China along the Line of Actual Control was hurting bilateral ties.

India issued the statement hours after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Foreign Ministers summit in Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe.

Tensions have been brewing between India and China since their troops clashed in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh in June last year. Twenty Indian soldiers were killed in the clash. China put the number of casualties on its side at four. Since the violent face-off, the two countries have held several rounds of military and diplomatic talks to reduce tensions.

The ministers of the two countries held an hour-long discussion on Wednesday about the current situation in eastern Ladakh. Jaishankar told the Chinese foreign minister that even though the disengagement in the Pangong Lake area in February was successful, the situation in other places was still unresolved.

“He [Jaishankar] emphasised that it was, therefore, in mutual interest that the two sides work towards early resolution of the remaining issues along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh, while fully abiding by bilateral agreements and protocols,” the Ministry of External Affairs said.

China told India that it was…

Read more