NEW DELHI: Ministry of external affairs (MEA) Friday denied any contradiction between what the Army chief, Upendra Dwivedi, had said this week on disengagement with China in eastern Ladakh and external affairs minister S Jaishankar‘s statement earlier in Parliament on the issue. While MEA has maintained that disengagement at friction points Depsang and Demchok has been completed, the Army chief had said there’s still a “degree of standoff” left between the militaries.
“We do not see any contradiction between what the Army chief has said and the position that we have taken. EAM had made the position very clear with regard to disengagement. Where the Oct 21 understanding is concerned, our objective has been to ensure patrolling, as in the past, to the relevant patrolling points, as well as resumption of grazing by our civilians as per longstanding practice,” said spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal. Jaiswal recalled that Jaishankar had also underlined that the “task of de-escalation remains to be addressed”.
“This is indeed what we have agreed upon with regard to Depsang and Demchok. The terms of the disengagement agreements reached prior to 21 Oct 2024 continue to hold in relevant areas in eastern Ladakh. In addition, EAM had also underlined that the task of de-escalation remains to be addressed. So, if you take these issues into account, you will realise that there is absolutely no contradiction between the positions taken,” added the official.
In his remarks, Dwivedi, describing the situation in the region as sensitive but stable, said the corps commanders of Army have been delegated powers to resolve “trivial” matters or “minor frictions” relating to patrolling and grazing so that they do not become “big” issues later.
The Army chief also said that there was no such thing called buffer zones as a temporary moratorium was put on patrolling in certain areas to avoid chances of violence.