India to resume patrolling in Ladakh after 4 years

New Delhi| A big agreement has been signed between India and China before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s participation in the BRICS Summit. Both countries have agreed to patrol the Line of Actual Control (LAC). This can resolve the border dispute between the two countries in eastern Ladakh and will reduce the conflict.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that an agreement has been reached between India and China regarding the patrolling system on the border. This will bring back the situation before May, 2020. During a conversation at the NDTV World Summit, Jaishankar said- ‘This is a positive and good development. This is the result of a lot of patience and a lot of determined diplomacy. We have been negotiating since September, 2020. After meeting China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Moscow at the time, I thought we would be able to return to peace and the pre-2020 situation.’

Earlier, India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri had given information about this agreement itself. He also told that after agreeing on the new system of patrolling, both the countries can withdraw their armies. Soldiers are not yet allowed to go to patrolling points in Depsang Plain Demchok. Armies are still present here. The new system of patrolling is related to these points. This will avoid conflicts like Galwan.

In April 2020, Chinese forces had encroached on at least 6 localities in eastern Ladakh after a military exercise. But two years later the Chinese PLA had retreated from 4 positions. Patrolling at the friction points of Daulat Beg Oldie and Demchowk was not agreed upon and the Indian Army was being stopped in many areas.

On 1 October, India’s Army Chief Upendra Dwivedi had said that India’s situation with China is stable, but these are not normal, they are quite sensitive. With China we have to fight, cooperate, live together, face and challenge. He had said that 17 commander level meetings had taken place between India and China since April. We have discussed many issues in these meetings.

External Affairs Minister Jaishankar had said during a summit in the Swiss city of Geneva on 12 September that 75% of the dispute with China had been resolved. The Foreign Minister also said that the issue of increasing militarization on the border is still serious.

Jaishankar said that the clash between China and India in Galwan in 2020 has badly affected the relations between the two countries. After the violence on the border, no one can say that other relations will not be affected by it. However, at the Asia Society Policy Institute in New York on September 25, he clarified his statement that 75% of the dispute would be resolved. He said, ‘I had said this only in the context of the retreat of the soldiers.

In early September, the Ministry of External Affairs had given an update on the current situation of India-China relations. He had said that efforts are on to continue the talks and resolve the tension through Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) meetings. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has continuously discussed relations with China in several forums.