India committed to peace and tranquillity along border with China: MEA

Days after Indian and Chinese troops were engaged in two fierce face-offs, India on Thursday said it remained committed to maintaining peace and tranquillity along the border with China noting that such incidents could have been avoided if there was a common perception about the frontier.

On May 5, around 250 Indian and Chinese army personnel clashed with iron rods, sticks, and even resorted to stone-pelting in Pangong Tso lake area in Eastern Ladakh. Four days later, there was a similar face-off near Naku La Pass in North Sikkim.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said India and China attach utmost importance to ensuring peace and tranquillity in all areas of Sino-India border regions and referred to affirmation about it by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in their two informal summits.

"Occasionally, however, on account of difference in perception of the alignment of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), situations have arisen on the ground that could have been avoided if we had a common perception of the Line of Control (LAC)," he said.

The LAC is the de-facto border between the two nations.

He further said, "The Indian side remains committed to the objective of maintaining peace and tranquillity in the India-China border areas."