GS Paper-2
Syllabus: India and its neighbours, bilateral, regional and global grouping etc
Context:
- External Affairs Minister and Chinese Foreign Minister and State Councilor held talks on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Bali.
- The two sides discussed resolving the border standoff that began in April 2020.
- India and China crossed swords over the Prime Minister’s birthday greetings to the Dalai Lama, and Enforcement Directorate (ED) searches at the offices of the Chinese Company Vivo in India.
Key Highlights:
- Three mutuals: India-China relationship is best served by three mutuals:
- Mutual respect
- Mutual sensitivity
- Mutual interests
- Early resolution: The External Affairs Minister called for an early resolution of all the outstanding issues along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh.
- Complete disengagement: EAM reiterated the need to sustain the momentum to complete disengagement from all the remaining areas to restore peace and tranquillity in the border areas.
- Regular contact at military and diplomatic levels: The two Ministers agreed that they should continue regular contact at military and diplomatic meetings and looked ahead to the next 16th round of Senior Commanders meeting at the Chushul Moldo border point.
- No mention of LAC by China: The Chinese readout made no mention of the LAC crisis, instead emphasizing remarks calling on both sides to “strengthen coordination and cooperation and jointly promote more democratic international relations and a fairer international order”.
- Both sides maintained communication: China said both sides had “maintained communication and exchanges” and “effectively managed differences”.
- Assured support: China assured support for India’s upcoming G20 and SCO presidency.
| Line of Actual Control(LAC):
● The Line of Actual Control (LAC) is the demarcation that separates Indian-controlled territory from Chinese-controlled territory. ● LAC is different from the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan, LoC emerged from the 1948 ceasefire line negotiated by the United Nations (UN) after the Kashmir War. ● It was designated as the LoC in 1972, following the Shimla Agreement between the two countries. It is delineated on a map signed by the Director-General of Military Operations (DGMO) of both armies and has the international sanctity of a legal agreement. ● The LAC, in contrast, is only a concept – it is not agreed upon by the two countries, neither delineated on a map nor demarcated on the ground. ● India considers the LAC to be 3,488 km long, while the Chinese consider it to be only around 2,000 km. |
Insta Links:
Practice Questions:
Q. Critically examine the aims and objectives of SCO. What importance does it hold for India? Discuss (UPSC 2021)
Q. Which of the following is the correct arrangement of points on LAC from North to South?
- Karakoram pass-Galway valley-Hot Spring-Daulat Beg Oldi
- Hot spring-Karakoram pass-Galwan Valley-Daulat Beg Oldi
- Karakoram pass-Daulat Beg Oldi-Galwan valley-Hot Spring
- Daulat Beg Oldi-Karakoram pass-Galwan valley-Hot spring
Ans: (c)
Justification:
