Indian Army Chief Emphasises Trust Restoration For LAC Normalcy, China Views Disengagement Agreement 'Positively'

A day after India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri announced disengagement with China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the Indian Army and Chinese Foreign Ministry elaborated their stance.

Speaking to the media, Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi said that India's goal is to go back to the status quo of April 2020 and then it will work on disengagement, de-escalation and normal management of LAC.

He explained that there are phases in normal management as well but as of now, the focus is on restoring the trust. "Trust will get restored once we are able to see and convince each other," the Army Chief said.

He added that both sides will need to reassure each other that they are not creeping into buffer zones that have been created and the other stages will follow when the trust is restored.

On the same day, the spokesperson of Chinese Foreign Ministry Lin Jian was quoted as saying by Global Times that the two sides have reached a solution on the relevant matters.

"China and India have maintained close communication through diplomatic and military channels regarding border-related issues," he said adding that China views the disengagement agreement positively.

"In the next phase, China will work with India to effectively implement the solution plan," he concluded as the details of disengagement and patrolling agreement have not been declared officially.

The agreement was reached after four years and four months of diplomatic and military efforts, including 17 rounds of Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) meetings and 21 rounds of military dialogue.