MEA decries China's letter to MPs on attending Tibet event; 'tone & tenor inappropriate'

On Thursday, the Ministry of External Affairs lambasted the Chinese Embassy's letter to Indian MPs over their attendance at a reception hosted by the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile in December 2021. As per reports, the political counsellor at the Chinese embassy expressed concern over the participation of the parliamentarians at this event and asked them to not provide support to these Tibetan forces. Reacting to this, MEA official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi came down heavily on the tone of the letter and urged China to refrain from complicating the situation further. 

The MEA spokesperson stated, "We have seen reports about the political counsellor at the Chinese embassy writing letters to Honourable Members of Parliament on their participation at an event. The substance, tone and tenor of the letter are inappropriate. The Chinese side should note that India is a vibrant democracy. And honourable Members of Parliament as representatives of the people undertake activities as per their views and beliefs. We expect the Chinese side to refrain from hyping normal activities from Members of Parliament and complicate further the situation in our bilateral relations." 

LAC faceoff lingers on

The faceoff at the Line of Actual Control was exacerbated when 21 Indian Army soldiers including a Commanding Officer were martyred in the Galwan Valley on June 15, 2020, when the de-escalation process was underway. The Galwan Valley clash was followed by multiple attempts of provocation by the Chinese side at the end of August 2020. Multiple rounds of military commander-level and Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs(WMCC) meetings have taken place between the two sides to resolve the crisis.

Besides this, EAM S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh have met their respective counterparts. So far, the armies of India and China have disengaged from multiple places, including north and south of Pangong Tso and Gogra. India has been looking forward to ensuring that the disengagement in the remaining areas along the LAC at the earliest. Maintaining that prolonging the situation is in neither country's interest, the Ministry of External Affairs has reiterated that disengagement might open up the possibility of de-escalation of forces and progress in bilateral ties. The disengagement is yet to be completed in friction points such as Hot Springs and Depsang.