India’s engagement with China complex: MEA annual report

New Delhi: India’s engagement with China is “complex” and Chinese attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh starting from April-May 2020 seriously disturbed the peace and tranquility in border areas and impacted overall ties, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a report.

In its annual report for 2022, the MEA said the External Affairs Minister conveyed to his Chinese counterpart that the restoration of normalcy in ties will require the restoration of peace and tranquility along the frontier.

“India’s engagement with China is complex. The two sides have agreed that pending the final settlement of the boundary question, maintenance of peace and tranquility in the border areas is an essential basis for the overall development of the bilateral relationship,” the MEA’s annual report for 2022 said.

“However, starting from April-May 2020, the Chinese side undertook several attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo along the LAC in the Western sector, which seriously disturbed the peace and tranquility along the LAC in the Western sector and impacted the development of the relationship,” it said.

The MEA said both sides have agreed to resolve the issues along the LAC in eastern Ladakh through peaceful dialog and that discussions have continued with the Chinese side to achieve complete disengagement from all friction points and full restoration of peace and tranquility in the India-China border areas at an early date.

“However, the continued unilateral attempts by China to change the status quo have impacted the bilateral relationship since then,” it said.

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