MEA censures China for furthering 'untenable interpretation of LAC', cites agreements

On Tuesday, the Ministry of External Affairs dismissed China's position on the Line of Actual Control as espoused by its ex-Premier Zhou Enlai to the late Jawaharlal Nehru in a letter dated November 7, 1959. Recently, the Chinese Foreign Ministry referred to the concept of the 1959 LAC and pinned the blame for the ongoing tensions on the Indian Army. Basically, Enlai described the LAC as the McMahon Line in the eastern sector and the traditional customary line in the middle and western sectors. 

Moreover, he proposed that the armies of both countries should withdraw 20 km from the LAC as perceived by China to ensure tranquility in the border areas, enabling a friendly settlement of the boundary question. However, Nehru outrightly rejected this definition of the LAC. MEA official spokesperson Anurag Srivastava reiterated that India has never accepted the 1959 LAC. Thereafter, he revealed that the two sides had engaged in an exercise to clarify and confirm the LAC up to 2003, after which China did not show any willingness to pursue it. 

MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava stated, "This position has been consistent and well known, including to the Chinese side. Furthermore, under their various bilateral agreements including the 1993 Agreement on Maintenance of Peace and Tranquility along the LAC, 1996 Agreement on Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) in the military field, 2005 Protocol on Implementation of CBMs, 2005 Agreement on Political Parameters and Guiding Principles for settlement of the India-China Boundary Question, both India and China have committed to clarification and confirmation of the LAC to reach a common understanding of the alignment of the LAC. In fact, the two sides had engaged in an exercise to clarify and confirm the LAC up to 2003, but this process could not proceed further as the Chinese side did not show a willingness to pursue it."

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According to Srivastava, China's insistence that there is only one LAC is contrary to the solemn commitments made in the bilateral agreements. Maintaining that India has always abided by the LAC, he drew attention to the fact that China had made attempts to transgress the LAC to unilaterally change the status quo. In the context of the agreement reached between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on September 10, he expressed hope that the Chinese side would refrain from advancing an "untenable interpretation of the LAC".

The LAC faceoff

The LAC faceoff was exacerbated when 20 Indian Army soldiers including a Commanding Officer were martyred in the Galwan Valley on June 15 when the de-escalation process was underway. This was followed by multiple attempts of provocation by the Chinese side at the end of August. During the meeting of the two Foreign Ministers, it was agreed that the consensus of their respective leaders of not allowing differences to become disputes would be adhered to. Noting that the current situation in the border areas was not in the interest of either side, they said that troops of both nations should continue talks and quickly disengage.

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