AGENCIES / New Delhi
India today rejected China’s position that it abides by its 1959 stand on the perception of the Line of Actual Control, LAC and asked the neighbouring country to refrain from advancing an untenable, unilateral interpretation of the de-facto border.
Responding to a query on a media report quoting a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement regarding China’s position on the LAC, MEA Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said, India has never accepted the so-called unilaterally defined 1959 Line of Actual Control, LAC and this position has been consistent and well known, including to the Chinese side.
The spokesperson referred to various bilateral agreements including the 1993 agreement on maintenance of peace and tranquility along the LAC, 1996 pact on confidence building measures in the military field, 2005 Protocol on Implementation of confidence building measures and the 2005 agreement on political parameters and guiding principles for settlement of the boundary issue. He said, under their various bilateral agreements, both India and China have committed to clarification and confirmation of the LAC to reach a common understanding of the alignment of the LAC. Mr Shrivastava said, 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.
He said, therefore, the insistence now of the Chinese side that there is only one LAC is contrary to the solemn commitments made by China in these agreements. The Spokesperson said, the Indian side has always respected and abided by the LAC.
Referring to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s recent address to Parliament, Mr Srivastava said, it is the Chinese side which by its attempts to transgress the LAC in various parts of the Western Sector has tried to unilaterally alter the status quo.
He said, in the last few months, the Chinese side has repeatedly affirmed that the current situation in the border areas should be resolved in accordance with the agreements signed between the two countries. In the agreement reached between External Affairs Minister and his Chinese counterpart on 10th September also, the Chinese side has reiterated its commitment to abide by all the existing agreements.
The Spokesperson said, India expect that the Chinese side will sincerely and faithfully abide by all agreements and understandings in their entirety and refrain from advancing an untenable unilateral interpretation of the LAC.