With India and China reaching an agreement on patrolling along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh, Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi on Tuesday said as of now “we are trying to restore the trust” and both sides will have to “reassure each other” to achieve this.
His assertion in New Delhi came a day after India announced an agreement with China on patrolling. China on Tuesday confirmed that it has reached an agreement with India to end the standoff between the two armies in eastern Ladakh.
It means both the armies will now resume patrolling in their respective zones as was the practice before May 2020.
Following the Galwan clash in June that year, both sides deployed a large number of troops on the LAC leading to heightened tension.
Once patrolling commences, the two sides will eventually disengage by withdrawing their troops from the LAC to peacetime locations in their respective territories. After this step, the area may see de-escalation.
Speaking at an interaction session after delivering a lecture hosted by defence think-tank USI, the Army Chief said “As far as we are concerned, we were looking at... We want to go back to the status quo of April 2020. Thereafter, we will be looking at disengagement, de-escalation and normal management of Line of Actual Control. And, this normal management of the LAC will not just start there. There are phases in that also,” the Army chief said.
“So, this is what I am saying. This has been our stance since April 2020… And even today remains the same. So, as of now, we are trying to restore the trust. How the trust will get restored. It will get restored once we are able to see each other, and we are able to convince each other” related to the buffer zones that have been created, he said. “And, both will have to reassure each other,” the Army chief added.
Patrolling gives you that kind of advantage, and that is what is commencing. “And, as we restore the trust, the other stages will follow through,” he said.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Monday announced India has reached an agreement with China on patrolling along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. This is seen as a major breakthrough in ending the over four-year-long military standoff ahead of a likely meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Russia this week.
“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.
“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,” Misri added.
Later, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also said Indian and Chinese soldiers would be able to resume patrolling in the way they had been doing before the border face-off began.
Army Chief Dwivedi also said India would be looking at disengagement and de-escalation after a return to the 2020 situation. He said it was important to see that buffer zones that have been created were not being encroached upon.
The troops of both nations had previously disengaged from four places, including the Galwan Valley, where a deadly clash in June 2020 left 20 Indian soldiers and several Chinese troops dead. The new agreement will facilitate patrolling in the Depsang and Demchok areas. The four places which saw disengagement include Galwan Valley, Pangong Lake, Hot Springs, and Gogra.
Newsagency PTI reported from Beijing, China on Tuesday confirmed that it has reached an agreement with India to end the standoff between the two armies in eastern Ladakh.
“Over a recent period, China and India have been in close communication through diplomatic and military channels on issues related to the China-India border,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a media briefing here. Now, the two sides have reached a resolution on the “relevant matters,” he said. The spokesperson added China will work with India to implement it but declined to provide details.
About the bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping on the margins of the BRICS summit at Russia’s Kazan, he said, “We will keep you updated if anything comes up.”
In New Delhi, Navy Vice Chief Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan on Tuesday said the naval force was happy to learn about India and China reaching an agreement on patrolling along the LAC in eastern Ladakh as he underlined that in national security issues, it is “not easy” to come to any kind of a settlement.
He said this during a media interaction held at Kota House ahead of the third edition of Navy’s flagship seminar Swavlamban.
“In national security issues, it is not easy to come to any kind of a settlement. It’s not easy, because there are views, there are perceptions, there are emotive issues. There are land issues and there are national security considerations. So, at one time you address several elements of national consciousness. You go and talk, negotiate,” Vice Admiral Swaminathan said.
“So, if you come to any kind of settlement, I don’t know what the details are, and I dont even need to know it, but I... Know there is some kind of settlement, and all of us are happy,” he added.
