Breakthrough: China confirms agreement with India to resolve eastern Ladakh border standoff

China confirmed on October 22 that it has reached an agreement with India to end the border standoff in eastern Ladakh, PTI reported.

“Over a recent period, China and India have been in close communication through diplomatic and military channels on issues related to the China-India border,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters at a press conference in Beijing.

“Now the two sides have reached a resolution on the relevant matters which China speaks highly of. Going forward, China will work with India to implement these resolutions,” he added.

Jian, however, did not provide specifics or details of the agreement between the neighbours.

Move Ahead in Bilateral Ties?

On the bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping on the margins of the BRICS summit at Russia's Kazan, the spokesperson said, “We will keep you updated if anything comes up.”

On October 21 India said it reached an agreement with China on patrolling along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. The news was recieved as a “major breakthrough” after a more than four-year-long military standoff between the two armies since June 2020.

Relief in Long-Standing Tensions

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar announced on October 21 that the “disengagement process with China has been completed”.

Jaishankar said, “...We can say that the disengagement process with China has been completed...We will be able to do the patrolling which we were doing in 2020. I think it's a good development…”

The agreement likely pertains to patrolling in Depsang and Demchok areas.

Relations between the two nuclear-capable nations have been tense since 2020, when violent clashes along their poorly defined border resulted in the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers and four from China.

The Galwan Valley confrontation marked a grim milestone, being the first fatal encounter since 1975, where combatants used sticks and clubs instead of firearms.

Historically, Delhi and Beijing fought a single war in 1962, which ended in a significant defeat for India, adding to the complexity of their relationship and ongoing disputes over territorial claims.

(With inputs from PTI)