Diplomatic Breakthrough India and China Returns to Patrolling Pre-2020 Norms
India’s External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, shared updates on the disengagement process between India and China. He stated that the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) has returned to what it was before May 2020. He emphasized that India’s relations with China will only normalize once the de facto border situation stabilizes as it did in 2020.
Tensions between the two countries escalated in April-May 2020 due to China’s aggressive actions, culminating in a deadly clash in June 2020, where 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives in the Galwan Valley, and there were casualties on the Chinese side as well.
Jaishankar mentioned that the disengagement process is now complete, allowing both countries to resume patrolling in areas that had been blocked since 2020. He highlighted the importance of the diplomatic negotiations since September 2020, which led to this understanding.
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He noted, “This agreement will allow us to patrol as we did in 2020, which is a positive development.” He also expressed that the negotiations have resulted from “patient and persevering diplomacy” and have created a foundation for restoring peace and stability in the border areas.
The minister added that ongoing discussions with Chinese officials at diplomatic and military levels have helped resolve previous standoffs and led to this new agreement on patrolling along the border.