(TibetanReview.net, Nov01’24) – On the occasion of Diwali, India’s Hindu New Year festival of light, on Oct 31, Indian and Chinese troops have exchanged sweets on five locations along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), including two in Ladakh. It came a day after the two sides completed military disengagement from the Depsang and Demchok areas in eastern Ladakh, in line with an Oct 21 patrolling arrangement deal.
The deal was hailed in India as the beginning of the normalization of bilateral ties which plunged to their nadir in the middle of Jun 2020 when troops from the two sides clashed in the Galwan valley of India’s Union Territory of Ladakh, resulting in the admitted deaths of 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers.
The exchange of Diwali sweets took place at Chushul Maldo and Daulat Beg Oldi in Ladakh, Banchha (near Kibutu) and Bumla in Arunachal Pradesh, and Nathula in Sikkim, reported the ndtv.com Oct 31.
The patrolling deal called for removal of military personnel and infrastructure, including temporary camps, from the Depsang plains and Demchok, and the withdrawal of troops to pre-Apr 2020 positions. They were the last two spots from which China had adamantly refused to withdraw its troops in a series of both diplomatic and military talks.
The deal will end nearly four years of military and diplomatic tension triggered by skirmishes and violent clashes in the Pangong Lake and Galwan regions in May-Jun 2020, the report hoped.
The completion of the ongoing disengagement verification process – to cross-check to ensure that the two sides have, indeed, withdrawn their troops as agreed – will be followed by steps to de-escalate the border situation, and the discussion of managing the borders, to be then followed by the normalization of bilateral ties.
All this depends on the restoration of trust between the two sides, which was severely dented by China’s violation of a series of written agreements, as repeatedly noted by India’s External Affairs Minister Mr S Jaishankar.
Jaishankar declined to give a timeline for the de-escalation, saying only it would not happen till Delhi is sure that its Beijing counterparts had honoured their side of the deal, the report noted.
De-escalation still remained a concern in other areas, including the Gogra-Hot Springs area in Ladakh, after Indian and Chinese forces backed down in September last year. China continues to hold large swathes of Indian territory to the north, in the Depsang plains area, the report said.
“After de-escalation, how to manage the borders will be discussed,” Jaishankar has said.
Experts have cautioned India that China’s current climb-down may be temporary, driven by its current economic difficulties and the resultant internal turmoil, and so not to normalize bilateral ties too quickly, as being sought by China.
Ambassador Xu Feihong of China has said that the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Russia on Oct 23 was very important. They “reached many important understandings” which will be “the guidelines for the further development of relations between our two countries.”
“I hope that, under the guidance of this consensus, our relations will be moving forward smoothly in the future and they will not be restricted or interrupted by specific disagreements
between our two sides,” moneycontrol.com Oct 31 quoted the ambassador saying on the NDTV news channel.
He has said he was “looking forward” to a future resumption of direct flights between India and his home country, which had remained suspended since 2020, something China has been seeking for some time.
Xu has also voiced optimism for increased collaboration between India and China across diverse sectors, such as trade, education, and scientific research. He emphasized that sustained progress in these domains would strengthen partnerships and mutual understanding between the two nations, contributing to a more cooperative regional environment, zeenews.india.com Oct 30 cited Xu as saying.
India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has described the border disengagement as a “major achievement” after years of diplomatic and military efforts. Addressing soldiers at Meghna Stadium in Tezpur, Assam, Singh has emphasized that the success was made possible by the dedication and bravery of India’s armed forces.
“This is not a small development. After prolonged efforts, we have reached a consensus with China,” ddnews.gov.in Oct 30 quoted Singh as saying, ahead of celebrating Diwali with the Indian troops in Tezpur.