New Delhi: India on Tuesday said it considers matters relating to border areas with China as “most serious” and asserted that maintaining peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is of “utmost importance”, as the state of the frontier will govern the overall trajectory of bilateral ties.
The remarks came amid reports of aggressive posturing by Chinese troops in Arunachal Pradesh’s Upper Subansiri region.
New Delhi also trashed Beijing’s criticism of its decision to formally identify 27 places and geographical features in Arunachal Pradesh by their standard names, emphasising that the state is an “inalienable and integral” part of India and nothing can change this “indisputable reality”.
“In matters relating to the border areas between India and China, we have always emphasised in discussions with the Chinese side that we consider these issues as most serious and that the maintenance of peace and tranquillity in these areas is of the utmost importance,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at his bi-weekly media briefing.
“We have also stated that the state of the border affairs will reflect on the state of our larger bilateral ties,” he said.
Jaiswal was asked about the reports of a standoff between the two sides in Upper Subansiri late last month and whether the issue has been taken up diplomatically with China.
There was no comment from the Indian Army on the reports.
The MEA spokesperson also referred to New Delhi underlining the importance of maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas during the latest round of diplomatic talks between the two countries.
“This was also reiterated at the recently held 36th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China border affairs (WMCC) on August 6,” he said.
Jaiswal said the two sides engaged in frank discussions and reviewed the situation along the LAC.
“The Indian side again underlined that maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas is essential for the overall development of bilateral relations.”
“It was agreed to continue to use existing diplomatic and military channels, including the WMCC, local commander-level meetings and other agreed mechanisms, to resolve outstanding issues and avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation along the LAC,” he said.
Jaiswal also rejected China’s criticism of New Delhi’s decision to formally identify 27 places and geographical features in Arunachal Pradesh by their standard names.
“Arunachal is inalienable and integral part of India and this is a fact which is self-evident. At the same time, let me also underline that nothing can change this indisputable reality,” he said.
India and China rolled out a series of measures in the last over one year to rebuild their relationship after it came under severe strain following the deadly Galwan Valley clashes in 2020 and the subsequent military face-off that lasted for over four years.
In October 2024, the two sides firmed up a disengagement pact for Depsang and Demchok, the last two friction points in eastern Ladakh.
Days after the agreement was finalised, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks in Kazan and took a number of decisions to improve the ties.
In August last year, Modi travelled to the Chinese city of Tianjin to attend the annual SCO summit. Modi and Xi held extensive talks on the sidelines of the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) summit.
In the meeting, Modi said India is committed to taking forward its ties with China based on mutual trust, respect and sensitivity.
In the last few months, India and China initiated a series of measures to reset their ties.
