A major breakthrough ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's trip to Russia for the BRICS summit, India and China have worked out arrangements for patrolling along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Himalayas, which could lead to "disengagement" and resolve the tensions that began in May 2020 with the bloody border clash, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said on Monday.
These talks have led to an agreement on the patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control in the India-China border areas leading to disengagement and resolution of the issues that had risen in these areas in 2020," he added while addressing a press conference.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will leave for Russia on Tuesday to take part in the BRICS summit at the invitation of President Vladimir Putin. In this connection, the agreement that is being readied for joint patrolling between India and China in Depsang and Demchok areas has come just hours ahead of his trip.
Official sources believe that the agreement is going to focus on this area.
The Foreign Secretary today said: Diplomatic and military negotiators from India and China had several rounds of discussions over the last few weeks, and these talks had culminated in the agreement reached on these issues.
In fact, Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping might just hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS summit-the first in which Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the UAE join the club of existing members, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The meeting confirmation has also not come through either. The working mechanism for consultation and coordination on India-China border affairs met recently in Beijing on August 29. It was an open, frank, and constructive exchange of views on the situation along the LAC, with both sides trying to bridge differences and move forward with more urgency to resolve outstanding issues. Normalisation of bilateral relations depends upon restoration of peace and tranquillity coupled with respect for LAC. Indian and Chinese military leaders have been holding frequent meetings to strive for complete disengagement in the remaining areas along the LAC in eastern Ladakh as this is considered vital for restoring peace and tranquillity in the border regions.
Relations between India and China have entered a tangle after clashes on their border regions in 2020 in Eastern Ladakh killed nearly 20 Indian soldiers and more than 20 members of the Chinese PLA. Several rounds of talks at the military and diplomatic levels so far failed to find a solution.
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