Publication Date : 07-05-2013
After facing much criticism over the handling of the Sarabjit Singh issue and India’s pursuit of foreign policy vis-a-vis Pakistan, India’s recent hardening of stance with China seems to have paid off. India’s external affairs minister, Salman Khurshid, for a long time tried downplaying the face-off between India and China in the Depsang valley. But last week, en route to Teheran, the minister indicated that his visit to China scheduled for May 9 may have to be called off if the face-off in Ladakh continued.
Today, the ministry of external affairs confirmed that the visit of Khurshid to China will be as per schedule. “The governments of India and China have agreed to restore status quo ante along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Western Sector of the India-China boundary as it existed prior to April 15, 2013,” said Syed Akbaruddin, official spokesperson of the MEA, in a statement.
Beijing, while confirming the news, played with greater caution. It merely said today that the “stand-off” with India was resolved through “fruitful consultations”, keeping the larger interests of bilateral relations in mind.
“Following the stand-off at the border area, China and India with the larger interests of bilateral relations in mind have taken a cooperative and constructive attitude,” Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Ms Hua Chunying said in Beijing.
The two sides exercised restraint and properly handled the incident through relevant mechanisms, diplomatic channels and border meetings, she added.
Interestingly, both sides refused to discuss the details of the agreement reached. Speculation was rife that India had agreed to certain Chinese demands like dismantling of some infrastructure in another disputed sector. However, there is no confirmation of this, as of now.
Khurshid’s visit to China later this week is a preparatory one for the visit of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang who will be visiting Delhi on May 20.
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