The agreement with China on the resumption of patrolling along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), appears to have closed the door on an ugly chapter in bilateral relations.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in Delhi that “The understanding to my knowledge is that we will be able to do the patrolling, which we were doing in 2020. I think it’s a good development, it’s a positive development and I would say it’s a product of very patient and very persevering diplomacy.”
He recalled that the two sides have been negotiating since Sept 2020 when he met Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Moscow.
“I think it creates a basis that peace and tranquility which should be there in border areas, which there was before 2020, we will be able to come back to that.”
“We can say that the disengagement process with China has been completed. There are areas which for various reasons after 2020 … because they had blocked us we had blocked them. So what has happened is we have reached an agreement which will allow patrolling.”
India had made it clear its stand ever since the Galwan Valley clash in May 2020, that resulted in the killing of 20 Indian soldiers by the Chinese. It resulted in a near war like situation with the unprecedented mobilisation of thousands of troops by both sides.
India maintained that for peace and tranquility to return, this massive troop mobilisation had to end, both sides had to disengage and de-escalate. While the former has been achieved, it is not clear if de-escalation will happen.
With this deal done, is the way now clear for a Modi-Xi Jinping bilateral at the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, which begins on Tuesday?
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri gave no clear answer during a briefing earlier on Monday. So wait and watch.
