NEW DELHI, Feb 6: External affairs minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday that military level talks between India and China over disengagement of troops had “made some progress” and the two countries would continue the parleys in future as well.
Speaking to media persons in Vijaywada, Jaishankar said the military level talks were complex matters and might take some time. “We believe some progress has been made, but it is not, in a kind of situation where there is a visible expression of that on the ground,” the minister said.
“The disengagement talks, because it is a very complicated issue, because it depends on troops, you have to know the geography [like] which position and what is happening, this is being done by the military commanders,” he said.
Asked if there would be any ministerial level talks between the two countries in near future, Jaishankar said the army commanders had so far held nine rounds of talks and their parleys would continue in future.
China and India are locked in a military standoff in eastern Ladakh since May 5 last.
“So, military commanders have held nine rounds of meetings so far. We believe some progress has been made, but it is not, in a kind of situation where there is a visible expression of that on the ground,” he said.
Jaishankar said he and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held parleys with their counterparts of China last year and agreed that they should disengage at some points. “Right now the military commanders are talking and they will continue to talk,” he said.
During the Covid-19 induced lockdown last year, Jaishankar noted that as many as four million Indians stranded abroad were brought back by operating 17,000 flights. The workers who came back from gulf countries during the Covid-19 pandemic have now started returning, which is a good sign, he added.
(Manas Dasgupta)