India and China agree to de-escalate border tensions
PTI
India on Monday announced it has reached an agreement with China on patrolling along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, in a major breakthrough in ending the over four-year-long military standoff that paves the way for a likely meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Russia this week.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, at a media briefing on Modi's visit to Russia for the BRICS summit, said the agreement was firmed up following negotiations by the two sides over the last several weeks and that it will lead to a resolution of the issues that had arisen in 2020. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said Indian and Chinese soldiers will be able to resume patrolling in the way they had been doing before the border face-off began and the disengagement process with China has been completed.
Prime Minister Modi and President Xi are likely to hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in the Russian city of Kazan either today or Wednesday. The ties between the two countries nosedived significantly following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.
The two sides have since disengaged from a number of friction points following a series of military and diplomatic talks in the last couple of years. However, the talks hit hurdles in resolving the situation in Depsang and Demchok. "Over the last several weeks, Indian and Chinese diplomatic and military negotiators have been in close contact with each other in a variety of forums," the foreign secretary said at the media briefing.
"As a result of these discussions, agreement has been reached on patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control in the India-China border areas, leading to disengagement and a resolution of the issues that had arisen in these areas in 2020," he said.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, at a media briefing on Modi's visit to Russia for the BRICS summit, said the agreement was firmed up following negotiations by the two sides over the last several weeks and that it will lead to a resolution of the issues that had arisen in 2020. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said Indian and Chinese soldiers will be able to resume patrolling in the way they had been doing before the border face-off began and the disengagement process with China has been completed.
Prime Minister Modi and President Xi are likely to hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in the Russian city of Kazan either today or Wednesday. The ties between the two countries nosedived significantly following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.
The two sides have since disengaged from a number of friction points following a series of military and diplomatic talks in the last couple of years. However, the talks hit hurdles in resolving the situation in Depsang and Demchok. "Over the last several weeks, Indian and Chinese diplomatic and military negotiators have been in close contact with each other in a variety of forums," the foreign secretary said at the media briefing.
"As a result of these discussions, agreement has been reached on patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control in the India-China border areas, leading to disengagement and a resolution of the issues that had arisen in these areas in 2020," he said.