Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri stated today that India and China have reached on a patrolling arrangement along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Himalayas, and it can lead to disengagement and settlement of tension that started with skirmishes in May 2020.
The achievement was made in advance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trip to Russia for tomorrow’s BRICS meeting.
According to news agency PTI, it is understood that the deal covers patrolling in the Depsang and Demchok areas.
The top diplomat in the External Affairs Ministry (MEA), Mr. Misri, reported that over the previous few weeks, the two nations’ military and diplomatic representatives had undertaken multiple rounds of discussions. “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 risen in these areas in 2020” is the accord that has emerged from these negotiations, he said.
It is anticipated that PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping will have a bilateral meeting outside of the informal summit of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) group of states, despite no official statement to that effect.
The working mechanism for coordination and consultation on border issues between China and India convened for the last time on August 29 in Beijing. After that, in an effort to reduce disagreements and find an early solution to any unresolved concerns, the two parties conducted an open, positive, and forward-looking discussion about the state of affairs along the LAC.
It was decided that the key to restoring normalcy in bilateral ties is the restoration of peace and quiet as well as respect for the LAC.
General Upendra Dwivedi, the chief of staff of the Indian Army, stated earlier this month that the two sides had finished resolving the “low-hanging fruits” and were now facing challenging situations. He also mentioned that there had been “positive signalling” from the diplomatic front and that the two countries’ military commanders would have to handle the actual execution of the agreements.
In order to restore peace and tranquility to the border regions between China and India, both Chinese and Indian military commanders have been meeting on a regular basis. They have expressed a desire for complete disengagement from the remaining territories along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh.
After Indian and Chinese soldiers left Gogra-Hot Springs in Ladakh in September 2022, some places still needed to be de-escalated. Here, Chinese forces were back where they were before 2020. Large portions of Indian land in the Depsang plains to the north were still thought to be under the control of Chinese soldiers even at that time.
June 2020 saw fierce fighting between the opposing forces in Galwan, eastern Ladakh, which resulted in the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers. More than forty soldiers from China were hurt or killed.
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