China committed to peace and stability in border areas with India: spokesman

Beijing: China on Wednesday claimed it has been “honouring” the agreements signed with India, adding it is committed to peace and stability at their border areas.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said this at a media briefing when asked to comment on Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s address in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday and why is China not agreeing to move its troops back from the friction points in eastern Ladakh.

“For the Chinese side, we have been honouring the agreements signed between China and India. We are committed to peace and stability in the border area. Meanwhile we are committed to our sovereignty and territorial integrity, he said.

Singh had told the Lok Sabha that at the military and diplomatic talks with China, India has maintained three key principles which are:”Both sides should strictly respect and observe the Line of Actual Control (LAC); Neither side should attempt to alter the status quo unilaterally; And all agreements and understandings between the two sides must be fully abided by in their entirety.”

At the foreign ministry briefing, Wang repeated the claim that China is not to blamed for the current situation. He said that China is ready to work with India to maintain dialogue and consultation through diplomatic and military channels to jointly ensure peace and tranquillity in the border areas.

He also hoped that India will put the border issue at an appropriate position in the “bigger picture” of China-India relations, and will work with China to follow through on the agreement reached during the talks between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Moscow last Thursday and also other previously reached agreements. (PTI)