NEW DELHI,OCT 21 : India on Monday announced it has arrived at an agreement with China on patrolling in remaining friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, in a major breakthrough in the festering row that came following a series of negotiations between the two sides over the last few weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri indicated that the agreement will lead to disengagement and a resolution of the issues that had arisen in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is understood that the agreement pertains to patrolling in Depsang and Demchok areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“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,” the foreign secretary said at a media briefing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“As a result of these discussions, agreement has been arrived at 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,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We will be taking the next steps on this,” Misri added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is not immediately clear whether the agreement facilitates the restoration of patrolling rights that were in place prior to the standoff in May 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
India has been maintaining that its ties with China cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In all negotiations since the standoff began, India has been pressing the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to disengage from the Depsang and Demchok areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last month, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said roughly 75 per cent of the “disengagement problems” with China are sorted out but the bigger issue has been the increasing militarisation of the frontier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Now those negotiations are going on. We made some progress. I would say roughly you can say about 75 per cent of the disengagement problems are sorted out,” he said at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We still have some things to do,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, China’s Foreign Ministry on Monday parried questions on a possible meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Russia this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We will keep you posted if anything comes up,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said while replying to a question at a media briefing here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both Modi and Xi are attending the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, which begins Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was no reaction in Beijing to the agreement announced by Misri.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Indian and Chinese militaries have been locked in a standoff since May 2020 and a full resolution of the border row has not yet been achieved though the two sides have disengaged from a number of friction points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ties between India and China nosedived following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
China last Friday announced that Xi will attend the BRICS Summit in Russia, where he will work with other parties to open a new era for the Global South to seek strength through solidarity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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