'India, China continue using existing mechanisms to avoid LAC miscalculations': MEA after ITBP chief's remarks

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal made the remarks in response to a question on ITBP chief's statement on India-China stand-off in Arunachal Pradesh.

India and China continue to use existing diplomatic and military mechanisms to resolve unresolved matters and avoid miscalculations along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), ministry of external affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Friday.

He noted that the situation along the India-China border areas gets ‘disturbed from time to time when Chinese forces deviate from established patrolling patterns.’ Jaiswal made the remarks in response to a question on ITBP chief's statement on India-China stand-off in Arunachal Pradesh.

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Holding up the importance of peace and tranquility in bilateral ties with China, the MEA spokesperson said. “The two sides have also agreed to discuss ways to improve their understanding of the LAC in appropriate areas for better border management. I would also like to emphasise that the maintenance of peace and tranquility in the border areas is essential for the overall development of bilateral relations.”

Row over ITBP chief's China border remarks

As reported by HT earlier, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) chief Shatrujeet Kapur purportedly said on Thursday that the Shaurya platoon, an elite unit of the force, is successfully dealing with a “face-off in Arunachal Pradesh”. The remarks set off a political row with Congress leader Jairam Ramesh accusing the government of remaining "silent on this grave issue".

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In his address to the troops in Rajasthan's Alwar at a felicitation ceremony, Kapur purportedly said: “In recent days, there was a situation in Arunachal Pradesh where there was a face-off at different locations, which is still continuing. There our Shaurya commando teams did really exceedingly well."

A video clip of his remarks was circulated widely on social media. The central armed force, which is tasked with guarding and patrolling the LAC between India and China, released the footage on social media late on Thursday night but later deleted it. HT has reached out to ITBP for comment.

Without explicitly naming who the face-off was with, Kapur said, “ITBP started as a mountain guerrilla force, but since 2004 we have been guarding the Indo-China border."

There have been reports of a standoff with Chinese troops in the remote Taksin area of Upper Subansiri district since July.

Asked about this in a press conference in August, MEA's Jaiswal had said the state of border affairs has ramifications for overall India-China ties, adding that the two sides have agreed to use existing diplomatic and military mechanisms to “avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation” along the border.

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