External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday credited the breakthrough agreement with China on patrolling along the Line of Actual Control to the military which worked in 'very very unimaginable' conditions and deft diplomacy.
The actions on the ground would be confirmed and are expected to be followed up soon.
China on Tuesday confirmed that it has reached an agreement with India to end the standoff between the two armies in eastern Ladakh.
As India and China continue to face off across the Himalayas six decades later, the echoes of that earlier conflict remain unmistakable. The core of China's sensitivity lies not in maps or mountain passes, but in its perception of sovereignty over Tibet, points out Dr Kumar.
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval stated that India-China relations have shown an "upward trend" in the past nine months, with peace prevailing along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). This statement was made during talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the boundary issue, ahead of Prime Minister Modi's visit to China for the SCO summit.
Relations between India and China have been in an 'abnormal state' since the 2020 Galwan clash and it is a 'possibly longer than medium-term issue', External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in New York.
Jaishankar said that both sides also exchanged views on the next steps in the India-China bilateral ties.
'If Washington has to balance Chinese power, she will have to turn to the third biggest power in the world which is India.' 'The United States and India will have to work together in order to keep Chinese ambitions in check.'
A meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the SCO summit is being planned.
The statement of Commander of US Indo-Pacific Command Admiral John Aquilino on Wednesday came ahead of the 15th round of high-level military talks between India and China on March 11.
Disengagement of Indian and Chinese troops has started at two friction points in Demchok and Depsang Plains in the Eastern Ladakh sector, defence officials said.
It was for the first time that the high-level military talks on the lingering border row spanned two days.
'If China shows greater concerns for Indian interests, ties could improve. Otherwise, the thaw could be short-lived.'
China and India have maintained "candid and in-depth communication and coordination" to promote disengagement in areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh after the eighth round of talks to resolve the current standoff, the Chinese military said on Thursday.
Following the disengagement, both sides will soon start the coordinated patrolling in their respective areas, sources added.
China defends its construction of a dam on the Brahmaputra river in Tibet, addressing concerns from India and Bangladesh about its potential impact on water flow and the environment.
A total of 750 pilgrims have been selected through a computerised draw for the upcoming Kailash Manasarovar Yatra in Tibet, marking the resumption of the pilgrimage after a five-year gap. The Yatra's resumption is seen as an attempt to normalize India-China relations, which were strained by the eastern Ladakh border standoff. The pilgrimage will begin in June and continue until August, with pilgrims traveling in five batches via the Lipulekh route and ten batches via the Nathu La route. The selection process was deemed "fair, computer-generated, random, gender-balanced" by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), which organized the pilgrimage.
India will look at disengagement and de-escalation of the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh after restoration of the status quo of April 2020, Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi said on Tuesday, a day after New Delhi announced striking an agreement with Beijing to end the over four-year border row in the region.
Jaishankar said, "The immediate part which awaits us is what we call the de-escalation, which is the build-up of forces along the Line of Actual Control."
The ministry of external affairs on Wednesday said the talks were held in an "open and constructive manner" for an early and mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues.
The Indian and Chinese troops are locked in an over three-year confrontation in certain friction points in eastern Ladakh even as the two sides completed disengagement from several areas following extensive diplomatic and military talks.
'Our brave Indian soldiers don't reply to raining of bricks with mere sticks, they do so with iron rods'
The Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) was established in 2012 as an institutional mechanism for consultation and coordination for the maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the border areas.
'The future of BRICS is under stress as Chinese attempts to expand the platform are being resisted by India and Brazil.' 'Beijing is focused on a quick expansion with the aim of giving the platform a distinctly anti-Western orientation, which New Delhi and Brasilia seem to have no interest in,' notes Harsh V Pant.
The MEA said the two sides shared their perspectives on the matter in the talks held in a friendly and cordial atmosphere.
The disengagement of troops of the Indian Army and China's People's Liberation Army from the Line of Actual Control was reached after sustained negotiations at the military and diplomatic level, said the ministry of external affairs last week.
India and China held two days of military talks in an "open and constructive manner" for an early and mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh and agreed to maintain peace on the ground.
China, which claims Arunachal Pradesh as South Tibet, routinely objects to Indian leaders' visits to the state to highlight its claims. Beijing has also named the area Zangnan.
With Beijing remaining intransigent on the withdrawal of additional troops deployed by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) since the deadly border clash in 2020 in eastern Ladakh, India's bilateral ties with China remained frozen in 2023 with no forward movement on the horizon despite several rounds of diplomatic and military talks.
In the meeting, Doval conveyed to Wang that peace and tranquillity in border areas and respect for the Line of Actual Control are essential for return of normalcy in bilateral ties, according to the ministry of external affairs.
The comments came in the backdrop of the continuing standoff between the militaries of India and China at the LAC.
"The current border situation is overall stable," the Chinese diplomat said.
China's Defence Ministry says the militaries of China and India are making "great progress" in implementing the disengagement agreement to end over four-year-long standoff in eastern Ladakh. Spokesman Sr Col Wu Qian said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Chinese counterpart Admiral Dong Jun had a positive meeting in Vientiane, Laos, last week, and the two sides are implementing the settlement reached between the two counties. The two ministers agreed to implement the important consensus reached between the top leaders and promote stable relations between the two countries, the spokesman said.
'Once we deal with the disengagement, there is the larger issue as both of us have brought a very large number of troops up to the border.' 'So there is what we call the de-escalation issue, and then there is the larger, the next step is really, how do you deal with the rest of the relationship?'
The border standoff between the Indian and Chinese militaries erupted on May 5 last year following a violent clash in the Pangong lake area and both sides gradually enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers as well as heavy weaponry.
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.
India and China should build on 'good progress' in normalising the bilateral ties to address border-related issues including de-escalation, and it is essential to avoid 'restrictive trade measures and roadblocks', External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday during talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.
India and China on Monday held a fresh round of military talks with a focus on disengagement of troops in the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh and ease overall tensions in the region.
In the fresh round of talks, the Indian side is expected to press for disengagement of troops as soon as possible in all the remaining friction points besides seeking resolution of issues in Depsang Bulge and Demchok.
The move, which was approved by the Union home ministry, comes amid a military standoff with China in the eastern Ladakh area.
