NEW DELHI: Following the assertion by a US panel that China planned the violent Galwan face-off, India on Thursday again underlined the significance of all bilateral agreements and protocols, including the agreements of 1993 and 1996, saying the core issue is the need for both India and China to follow these for maintenance of peace and tranquillity along the LAC.

The government also recalled that India had told China days after the June 15 Galwan clashes that it was a pre-meditated and planned attack by Chinese troops. With the LAC situation still unresolved, India also reiterated that the two countries had agreed to have another round of meeting between the senior commanders at the right time.

The US Economic and Security Review Commission, in a report to US Congress, had accused China of ramping up its “coercion campaign” against neighbours and planning the Galwan clashes, including the possibility for fatalities.

Asked about the report, MEA recalled its statement after the conversation between foreign minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on June 17, two days after the clashes that saw 20 Indian soldiers laying down their lives while protecting India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

India was leading the world in the number of "confirmed Covid-19 vaccine doses" for which orders have been placed. The latest global vaccine procurement analysis by Duke University, which has been tracking advanced commitments between countries and vaccine developers, put the European Union second and the US third. According to the statement, Jaishankar had conveyed to Wang that despite the two sides having reached an agreement for disengagement and de-escalation, the Chinese took pre-meditated and planned action that was directly responsible for the resulting violence and casualties. It reflected an intent to change the facts on ground in violation of all our agreements to not change the status quo, it said. Jaishankar had also called for troops of both sides to abide by the bilateral agreements and protocols.

“I would stress that the core issue remains that both sides need to strictly follow the various bilateral agreements and protocols in their entirety, including the 1993 and 1996 agreement on maintenance of peace and tranquillity along the LAC in the border areas," said MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava, recalling India's statement of June 17.

The agreements, as the official said, require that there should not be amassing of troops, that each side should strictly abide by and respect the LAC and and not take any unilateral action to alter it. On the unresolved LAC stand-off, the government said the two sides continued to maintain communication through diplomatic and military channels with the objective of ensuring complete disengagement at all friction points along the LAC in the western sector and full restoration of peace and tranquillity.

"Both sides have agreed to have another round of senior commanders meeting at an appropriate time," said the spokesperson.