India-China Agreement

That India and China have taken the first step to repair the strained bilateral relationship by initiating the process of disengaging troops at two of the seven points of friction along the international boundary is a very significant development. The two sides have remained locked in a military standoff along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh after Chinese troops caused a major incursion more than four years ago. The process began on Tuesday, one day after India had formally announced that the two sides had reached an agreement on patrolling. No strict timeline has been agreed upon in view of the unpredictable weather conditions in those areas. It is, however, not likely to take more than a week to actually wind up the entire process. But China has not made any official statement or announcement on the agreement, and this is despite the fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a crucial bilateral meeting on Wednesday on the sidelines of the BRICKS leaders’ summit at Kazan in Russia. The ground for a disengagement agreement, though not formally announced by China, was incidentally laid by Prime Minister Modi in April this year when he told Newseek magazine that for India, the relationship with China was very important and that it would benefit both countries if the prolonged situation on the borders was urgently addressed so that the “abnormality” that had thrown spanners in the bilateral interactions could be thrown off as early as possible. This prompted China to react positively, with its foreign ministry spokesperson saying that the relationship between the two countries was “about more than the boundary situation” and that it was equally, if not more, important for the two neighbours to maintain close communication through diplomatic and military channels on handling issues related to the border situation and have made positive progress. In this context, one must remember that border patrolling is a key element of border management between India and China. Since there is no physical line on the ground, Indian troops are expected to go up to the Indian perception of the border before returning to base. Typically, soldiers either walk or drive up to the patrolling points and leave behind a sign of their presence there, which could be anything Indian, even an empty packet of cigarettes or a matchbox made in India. What is also significant to note is that, contrary to certain anti-India campaigns, India has never lost control of its territories to China. On the contrary, it was only denied access for patrolling in certain areas. This access has now been restored.