New Delhi: In a significant development, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Tuesday confirmed that there will be a bilateral meeting held between Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday, 23 Oct, on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit.
The 16th BRICS meeting in Kazan is being held under the chairmanship of Russia from 22-24 October.
This comes after Ministry of External Affairs said that 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.
And as a result of these discussions, agreement has been arrived at on 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. India and China will be taking the next steps on this.
During the special media briefing on PM Modi's visit to Kazan today, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, on the question of India-China reaching agreement on border patrolling along LAC, said, "In the pending areas under discussion, patrolling and indeed grazing activities, wherever applicable, will revert to the situation as it obtained in 2020".
"As far as the disengagement agreements reached previously are concerned, those agreements were not reopened in these discussions. The agreement that was reached yesterday was focused on issues that had remained outstanding in the last couple of years", said Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.
What happened in May 2020?
In May 2020, tensions between India and China escalated significantly due to a border dispute in the Ladakh region. Clashes occurred in the Galwan Valley, where troops from both sides faced off. The situation was marked by a standoff that involved a significant military buildup, with both countries reinforcing their positions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The conflict culminated in a violent confrontation on June 15, 2020, resulting in casualties on both sides, including the death of Indian soldiers. This incident heightened diplomatic tensions and led to a reevaluation of military strategies by both nations.
Meanwhile, External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Monday elaborated on India and China's disengagement process saying the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) has returned to what it was before May 2020.
He said there were some areas in Ladakh which were blocked by both sides for patrolling after 2020. The two countries have now reached an understanding that allows patrolling.
