'Disengagement process not completed yet; India-China commanders to meet soon': MEA

While maintaining that there had been some progress on complete disengagement of troops along the LAC, the Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday revealed that the process had not been completed. Speaking to the media, MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava recalled that India and China had agreed on the early and total disengagement along with de-escalation from the border areas as per the bilateral agreements. Moreover, there was a consensus that full restoration of peace and tranquility was necessary for the smooth overall development of bilateral relations. 

Srivastava highlighted that this agreement was also reached between Special Representatives National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during their conversation on July 5. He added that senior military commanders of the two sides would meet soon to work out steps for finishing the disengagement process. Reiterating that peace and tranquility in the border areas is the basis of the bilateral relationship, he expressed hope that the Chinese side would sincerely work with India. 

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Read: China Rakes Up Galwan Faceoff Post Disengagement, Blames India For June 15 Violence

Violent clash at the LAC

20 Indian Army soldiers including a Commanding Officer were martyred when a violent faceoff took place on June 15 when the de-escalation process was underway in the Galwan Valley. As per the Editor-in-Chief of the Chinese newspaper Global Times, the Chinese side also suffered casualties during the physical clash. Both sides have held multiple rounds of diplomatic and military level meetings to resolve the situation. After the visit of PM Modi to Ladakh, there has been considerable progress on disengagement at the LAC. 

WMCC meeting held

On July 24,  the 17th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) was held on Friday. While the Indian delegation was led by the Ministry of External Affairs' Joint Secretary (East Asia), the Director-General of the Boundary and Oceanic Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs represented the other side. According to the MEA, they also agreed to sincerely implement the understandings reached between senior commanders until now. On this occasion, India and China reiterated the commitment to continue engagements both at the diplomatic and military levels. 

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