New Delhi: India and China have reached an agreement on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) issues and both sides agreed to restart patrolling, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri confirmed during a special press briefing on Monday. "As of the results of discussions that have taken place over the last several weeks, an agreement has been arrived at on patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control in the India-China border areas. And, this is leading to disengagement and eventually a resolution of the issues that had arisen in these areas in 2020," Misri said during a presser.
"We will be taking the next steps on this," he added.
India-China border tension
The Indian and Chinese troops are locked in a standoff in certain friction points in eastern Ladakh even as the two sides completed disengagement from several areas following extensive diplomatic and military talks. India has been maintaining that its ties with China cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areas. Although lengthy negotiations resulted in the mutual withdrawal of troops from certain confrontation sites along the LAC, such as Galwan Valley, the northern and southern banks of Pangong Tso, Gogra Post, and Hot Springs, the standoff remains unresolved.
Major announcement before BRICS Summit
The major statement from the Ministry of External Affairs came a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to visit Russia for the BRICS Summit in Kazan city. It is anticipated that PM Modi hold a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping-- although an official confirmation from both sides is yet to arrive. If both leaders hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the summit, it would be a major boost to the ongoing border tensions talk.
Able to reduce differences: China
Earlier last month, China said both sides were able to "reduce differences" and build "some consensus" on disengaging troops from friction points to end the standoff in eastern Ladakh and agreed to maintain dialogue to reach a resolution acceptable to both sides at an "early date".
"The two sides agreed to reach a resolution at an early date acceptable to both sides," Zhang Xiaogang, a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defence had said in the last week of September. "The two sides agreed to reach a resolution at an early date acceptable to both sides," he said.
He was replying to a question on the talks between the two countries on disengagement from the remaining friction points especially Demchok and Depsang to end the over four-year-long military standoff in eastern Ladakh resulting in a freeze of relations between the two countries.
On September 3, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, while commenting on the talks between Wang and Doval, said the "front-line armies of the two countries have realised disengagement in four areas in the Western sector of the China-India border, including the Galwan Valley".
(With inputs from agencies)
