New Delhi:Indian and Chinese negotiators have reached an agreement on patrolling along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said on Monday. 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. The announcement on the breakthrough comes a day ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's travel to the Russian city of Kazan to attend the BRICS Summit.
Though there is no official announcement, it is expected that Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit.
History of India and Chinese Military Stand-Offs and Disengagement
Relations between India and China nose-dived to an all-time low after the militaries of both countries were engaged in a bloody standoff at the Pangong Tso in May 2020 and relations deteriorated further after the clash at Galwan Valley in Ladakh in June 2020. The disengagement process began in February 2021 and talks have been held since then to resolve the border dispute.
What happened in May 2020
In May 2020 China diverted its troops who had come to the Tibetan plateau region for their annual exercise, towards the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, creating a standoff with India.
In September 2024, India and China held the31st round of border affairs meeting where both sides had a 'frank, constructive and forward-looking exchange' of views on the situation along the LAC, the Ministry of External Affairs said.
September 24, 2024: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in New York speaking at the Asia Society Policy Institute that 75 per cent of progress on the India-China border dispute talks was done, it was only on the disengagement of troops in eastern Ladakh.
The Pangong Tso stand off
The India-China border stand-off began in May 2020, when the Chinese came in 8 km between Finger 8 and Finger 4 on the North bank of Pangong Tso. The Indian Army claimed Finger 8 to be the Line of Actual Control (LAC) while the Chinese, in a clear alteration of the status quo, have been camping at Finger 4 and have set up fortifications between Finger 5 and 8.
On August 29/30: Despite the previous consensus arrived at between India and China during several rounds of military and diplomatic talks, on the night of August 29/30 2020, PLA troops carried out provocative military movements to change the status quo.
In response to this violation of the previous consensus by the Chinese side, Indian troops pre-empted the PLA activity on the Southern Bank of the Pangong Tso Lake. Shots were fired for the first time at the LAC in decades after a tense encounter at Pangong Tso Lake's southern bank.
January 24, 2021: India and China have agreed to push for 'early disengagement of frontline troops' after a marathon meeting of military commanders.
February 2, 2021: The Chinese and Indian border troops began the process of disengagement on the southern and northern banks of Pangong Lake. It took nine months to disengage from pangong tso.
Standoff at Galwan Valley in 2020
On the night of June 15, 2020, Indian and Chinese troops clashed resulting in the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers.
