Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Russia for the 16th BRICS Summit, with a likely bilateral meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping, Beijing on Tuesday confirmed New Delhi’s Monday announcement on the two countries agreeing for Eastern Ladakh patrolling pact on the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson also said China will work with India to ensure the implementation of agreed resolutions, the media reported.
Post-COVID-19, fast-changing geopolitical realignments, and superpower rivalries have brought together the two biggest Asian countries to the negotiating table, with Russia, itself engaged in an inconclusive war with Ukraine since February 2022, reportedly brokering peace between China and India.
Russia and China, and now India, have found themselves on the same side vis-à-vis the US-led West. In particular, the US and Canada have tried to turn the screws on all these three countries on different issues.
That explains why a day after India announced an agreement with China concerning patrolling along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh, Beijing also, on Tuesday, confirmed the development, which could lead to New Delhi and Beijing resolving the military standoff in the region.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had, about a month ago, hinted that the two Asian countries had resolved “75% of their issues.”
In recent times, China and India engaged in close communication through diplomatic and military channels concerning issues along their borders, said Lin Jian, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, during a media briefing in Beijing, according to the media reports.
The two sides have now resolved these matters, he said, adding that China would work with India to ensure the implementation of the agreed resolutions. He, however, did not elaborate.
Regarding the potential bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, Lin commented, “We will keep you updated if anything comes up.”
India’s Foreign Secretary, Vikram Misri, disclosed on Monday that an arrangement had been reached between India and China regarding patrolling by both sides along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh.
Diplomatic and military discussions have been ongoing since May 2020, when China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) made significant incursions into areas traditionally patrolled by the Indian Army.
In the violent clashes that followed in the Galwan Valley in June 2020, nearly 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives, while an unspecified number of Chinese troops were also killed or wounded.
Relations between New Delhi and Beijing deteriorated sharply after the Galwan Valley clashes, resulting in the most intense military confrontation between the two sides in decades.
Since then, however, they remained engaged in negotiations, claiming to have settled disputes over the alignment of the LAC in three key areas: the Galwan Valley, Gogra-Hot Springs, and the Pangong Lake region.
Monday’s agreement relates to the Depsang Plains in the north of Ladakh and Demchok in the south, where the PLA still allegedly holds on to the Indian territory. These two regions account for the majority of the disputed area.
As such, the border pact could mark a significant breakthrough and contribute to ending the military standoff between the two nations, which has lasted for more than four years.