Team Blitz India
INDIA and China have reached an agreement on patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, marking progress in easing tensions that arose after the 2020 standoff. The agreement came on the eve of the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia.
“These talks have resulted in an agreement 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 risen in these areas in 2020,” Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said at a press conference ahead of PM Modi’s visit to Russia.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar at the NDTV World Summit confirmed that Indian and Chinese soldiers will return to patrolling along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the same manner as before the border tensions erupted in May 2020.
“Following extensive discussions with Chinese interlocutors through the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination (WMCC) and at the military level, both sides have reached a consensus on new patrolling arrangements along the LAC,” Misri said.
He emphasised that these discussions are leading to gradual disengagement and could eventually resolve the tensions that escalated after the 2020 border clashes. “While some locations of the standoff have previously been resolved, a few remained unresolved. This recent agreement reflects positive movement toward restoring normalcy,” he added.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had earlier noted, after the August WMCC meeting in Beijing, that both sides had engaged in “frank, constructive, and forward-looking” exchanges to narrow differences. Building on guidance from foreign ministers’ meetings in Astana and Vientiane in July 2024, the talks focused on accelerating progress and identifying solutions for outstanding issues along the LAC, according DD News.
Both nations have agreed to uphold peace and tranquillity in the border areas in accordance with existing bilateral agreements and protocols, emphasising that respect for the LAC is fundamental to restoring normal relations between India and China.
