After a long tension, relations between India and China finally seem to be normalizing. Let us tell you that India has announced that Indian and Chinese negotiators have agreed to an agreement for patrolling on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. The agreement is being seen as a major breakthrough in resolving the more than four-year-long military standoff in eastern Ladakh ahead of an expected meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Russia. Let us tell you that Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said that this agreement was finalized after talks between the two sides for the last several weeks and it will pave the way for the resolution of the impasse that arose in 2020. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has also said that Indian and Chinese troops will once again be able to start patrolling in the same manner as they did before the border conflict started and the process of withdrawal of troops with China has been completed.
Let us tell you that Modi and Jinping are likely to have a bilateral meeting today or Wednesday on the sidelines of the BICS summit in Kazan city of Russia. It is understood that the agreement will mark the beginning of patrolling in Depsang and Demchok as both the areas were locked in a standoff over several issues. Let us remind you that after the fierce clash in Galwan Valley in June 2020, relations between India and China had reached a low point. This clash was the deadliest military clash between the two sides in the last few decades. After several rounds of military and diplomatic talks over the past few years, both sides had disengaged from several friction points. However, the deadlock in Depsang and Demchok could not be resolved in the talks.
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Let us tell you that on Monday, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said in a press conference, “Diplomatic and military negotiators of India and China have been in close touch with each other on various forums for the last several weeks.” He said, “As a result of these discussions, a patrolling arrangement along the Line of Actual Control in the India-China border areas has been agreed upon, which will allow resolution of the standoff and withdrawal of troops in these areas in 2020,” Misri said. ‘We will take further steps in this regard.’
On the other hand, Jaishankar, speaking at a session of the NDTV World Summit, termed the finalization of the agreement as a “positive development”. “We agreed to an agreement on troop withdrawal with patrolling, under which the 2020 status quo is restored. We can say that the troop withdrawal process with China has been completed,” he said. Jaishankar said, “I think it is a good step; it is a positive development and I would say it is the result of very restrained and very determined diplomacy.” In response to a question, the External Affairs Minister indicated that India would be able to patrol Depsang and other areas. He said, “There is an understanding between us which will allow patrolling not only in Depsang but also in other areas. I think through this understanding, we will be able to patrol in those areas where we (the standoff) were in 2020.” Before) were doing.” Jaishankar said that both sides have been talking since September 2020 to end the deadlock. “On the one hand, we obviously had to make counter-deployments, but at the same time we also kept talking. We have been talking since September 2020, when I met my Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Moscow,” he said.
This has been a very measured process, the foreign minister said, and perhaps “more complex than it could and should have been.” He said there was peace along the LAC before 2020 and “we hope that we will be able to restore that situation.” Jaishankar said, “This was our major concern, because we have always said that if you disturb peace and stability, how can you expect relations to move forward?” On the difficult path of talks, Jaishankar said, “You could see that on many occasions, people had almost given up hope.”
Let us tell you that India has been continuously saying that until peace is not restored in the border areas, its relations with China cannot be normal. India has been pressurizing the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to withdraw its troops from Depsang and Demchok in all the talks held since the standoff began. Last month, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks in the Russian city of St. Petersburg with a focus on finding an early resolution to the dispute. In talks on the sidelines of a BRICS summit, both sides had agreed to make “immediate” and “redoubled” efforts for complete troop withdrawal from the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh. In the meeting, Doval had told Wang that peace and stability in the border areas and respect for LAC are necessary to normalize bilateral relations.