'Welcoming news': Former Chinar Corps Commander hails India-China agreement on patrolling

Lieutenant General DP Pandey (Retd) on Monday termed the move to solve the 'long festering' issue through talks a 'pragmatic decision'.

"On India-China reaching agreement on border patrolling along LAC, Lieutenant General DP Pandey (Retd) says, " ...I think it is a very pragmatic decision to move on to the talking table to resolve this long festering issue. While it may have taken 4 years...for the issue to come, wherein disengagement is likely to take place, I think it is very welcoming news, General DP Pandey said in a self-made video.

On Monday, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri while addressing a special media briefing ahead of PM Modi's visit to Russia for the BRICS Summit, said India and China have reached an agreement on the patrolling arrangements along LAC.

Misri said as a result of the discussions with the Chinese interlocutors an agreement has been arrived at on patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the India-China border areas.

He said this is leading to dis-engagement and eventually a resolution of the issues that arose after action by Chinese military in eastern Ladakh in 2020.

"We have been in discussion with Chinese interlocuters through WMCC as was mentioned earlier and at the military level as well through meetings of the military commanders at various levels. These discussions have in the past resulted in the resolution of standoffs at various locations. You are also aware that there were a few locations where the standoff had not been resolved," he said.

On Monday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, while speaking at the 'NDTV World Summit 2024: The India Century'confirmed to Foreign Secretary Misri's statement that India has reached an agreement with China on patrolling arrangements which would enable return of the situation before May 2020.

"What Foreign Secretary has said is what I can also say, that we reached an agreement on patrolling and with that we have gone back to where the situation was in 2020. 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 so we had blocked them. So what has happened is we have reached an understanding which will allow the patrolling. I think 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...We've been negotiating since September 2020, when I met my counterpart Wang Yi, in Moscow at that time...I think it creates a basis that peace and tranquility, which there should be in the border areas, which there was before 2020, we will be able to come back to that," the EAM said.

The actions of Chinese military in 2020 along the LAC in eastern Ladakh had put the bilateral relationship under "exceptional stress". (ANI)