The Foreign Ministers of India and China, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Wang Yi, arrived at a ‘Five Points’ agreement to reduce the prevailing tension on the Ladakh border during their talks in Moscow on the sidelines of the SCO Summit on September 10.
A joint statement, issued after a two-and-a-half-hour meeting Thursday night in Moscow between S Jaishankar and Wang Yi, said the ministers “agreed that the current situation in the border areas is not in the interest of either side”.
It reiterates the process of dialogue, disengagement, and easing of the situation. All this was comprehensively dealt with in the previous five agreements given below:
• The 1993 ‘Maintenance of Peace and Tranquility Agreement’ forms the basis of all followup agreements.
• 1996 ‘Confidence Building Measures’ denounced the use of force
• 2005 ‘Standard Operating Procedures’ and patrolling modalities.
• 2012 ‘Process of Consultation and Cooperation’
• 2013 ‘Border Cooperation Agreement’, signed as a sequel to Depsang intrusion by PLA
Continuing communications through the Special Representatives mechanism, and meetings of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on border affairs.
The Special Representatives (SRs) on the Boundary Question was established in 2003. It provided important guidance for ensuring peace and tranquility in border areas in a challenging situation. WMCC was established in 2012.
There is no requirement of additional agreements. The moot point is their implementation as these have been violated by the PLA in pursuit of its “Nibble and Negotiate” strategy. In fact, all these agreements have only helped China to consolidate its claims over a period of time by waging a ‘bullet-less’ war.
The mechanism of strategic guidance evolved at Wuhan and later reconfirmed at Mamallapuram between PM Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping has not delivered despite the fact that Xi is the commander-in-chief of PLA.
Nothing has been spoken about returning to the “status quo ante” or positions prior to the stand-off in April. India has also not categorically called on China to retreat from positions it has aggressed on at Pangong Tso, Depsang and other parts of the LAC.
The immediate task is to ensure a comprehensive disengagement of troops in all the friction areas. That is necessary to prevent any untoward incident in the future.The final disposition of the troop deployment to their permanent posts and the phasing of the process is to be worked out by the military commanders.
