Signalling a thaw in strained ties between the two countries for the last four years, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Monday announced that India and China have reached an agreement on patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. This leads to eventual disengagement of troops from both sides, Misri said.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar later said, “...We can say that the disengagement process with China has been completed… We will be able to do the patrolling which we were doing in 2020. I think it’s a good development....”
This significant development came a day ahead of the Brazil,Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) summit in Kazan, Russia. The two-day summit starts on Tuesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have a bilateral meeting with Chinese President XI Jinping on the sidelines of the meet, though there is, so far, no official word on it.
As regards the latest development, Misri said here both the countries have reached an agreement on patrolling arrangements along the LAC following recent negotiations between officials from both countries.
“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. As a result of these discussions, agreement has been arrived at 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. We will be taking the next steps on this,” he said.
The foreign secretary said the Indian and Chinese negotiators were in touch over the last few weeks to resolve the remaining issues. It is understood that the agreement pertains to patrolling in Depsang and Demchok areas.
It is not immediately clear whether the agreement facilitates the restoration of patrolling rights that were in place prior to the standoff.
Tensions flared up at the LAC in Eastern Ladakh in May 2020 when China unilaterally tried to change the status quo on the border. It led to a major clash between the troops of the two armies on June 15 that year in Galwan. Twenty Indian army personnel including the commanding officer died in the clash while more than 40 Chinese troops were also killed.
Both the sides then amassed troops and weaponry on their respective sides of the LAC. In fact, India, not willing to take any chances, also deployed its troops even during the winter months at the LAC. Earlier, the troops used to withdraw to their bases during the winters. At one point of time, more than 50,000 troops from each side were facing each other on friction points at the LAC.
Given the situation, India and China, since 2020, held several rounds of talks at the military and diplomatic levels. While Corps Commanders of the two sides held military level talks, the diplomatic level talks were held under the aegis of Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on India-China Border Affairs.
India has been maintaining that its ties with China cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areas.
In all negotiations since the standoff began, India has been pressing the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to disengage from the Depsang and Demchok areas.
Last month, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said roughly 75 per cent of the “disengagement problems” with China are sorted out but the bigger issue has been the increasing militarisation of the frontier.
“Now those negotiations are going on. We made some progress. I would say roughly you can say about 75 per cent of the disengagement problems are sorted out,” he said at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy. “We still have some things to do,” he said.
As regards the upcoming conclave in Russia, the BRICS Summit in Kazan, themed ‘Strengthening Multilateralism for Just Global Development and Security,’ will provide a platform for leaders to discuss key global issues. According to the Ministry of External Affairs(MEA), the summit offers an opportunity to review progress on BRICS initiatives and explore new areas for cooperation.
Prime Minister Modi is expected to hold bilateral meetings with leaders from BRICS nations and other invited participants in Kazan, Russia during the visit. The grouping, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, has expanded to include Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates.
