The chorus has grown stronger urging the Central government to bring back the 39 Indian sailors stuck in China as they were not allowed to unload their cargo by Chinese authorities.

Meanwhile, the central government has maintained that the matter is being vigorously pursued by India.

"Given growing stress on crew members and our concern for increasingly difficult conditions for them, these two cases are being pursued vigorously," a government statement said.

Bulk cargo vessel MV Jag Anand is on anchorage near Jingtang port in Hebei province of China since June 13. The vessel has 23 Indian sailors.

Another vessel MV Anastasia, with 16 crew members on board, is on anchorage near Caofeidian port since September 2020.

What Government Says

India has requested the Chinese authorities to allow both the cargo vessels to dock or/and change the crew.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said that the Indian Embassy in Beijing has been in constant touch with provincial and central government authorities in China.

Srivastava said the talks are on between the two countries to resolve the issue and ameliorate the situation of the crew, adding that there is a considerable amount of stress on the crew members on account of this unprecedented situation.

China’s Stance

Chinese authorities have conveyed that crew change is not being permitted from the ports on account of coronavirus-related restrictions by the ports.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said China has stayed in close communication with India and is responding to their requests as well as providing necessary assistance for them,

Maintaining that Beijing has clear stipulations on quarantine measures, Chinese authorities said there was no "link" between the situation of Indian crew on two stranded ship and its strained relations with India.

The Backdrop

India and China are locked in a border standoff since May 2020 and have had several rounds of talks to resolve the conflict.

At least 20 Indian Army personnel were killed during a violent confrontation with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in June 2020. The Chinese side had also suffered heavy casualties.

In the last round of talks held on December 18, both sides agreed to continue working towards ensuring disengagement of troops from all friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh region.

India has maintained that it wants good relations with all the neighbours including China, but it cannot accept any unilateral change of the LAC.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said India has always in favour of peace and he hopes that the border conflict will be resolved through talks at the military and diplomatic levels.

(Edited by : Aditi Gautam)

First Published:Dec 31, 2020 5:28 PM IST