In major breakthrough, India and China reach agreement on patrolling along LAC in eastern Ladakh

NEW DELHI: India on Monday announced it has arrived at an agreement with China on patrolling in remaining friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, in a major breakthrough in the festering row that came following a series of negotiations between the two sides over the last few weeks.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri indicated that the agreement will lead to disengagement and a resolution of the issues that had arisen in 2020.

It is understood that the agreement pertains to patrolling in Depsang and Demchok areas.

"Over the last several weeks, Indian and Chinese diplomatic and military negotiators have been in close contact with each other in a variety of forums," the foreign secretary said at a media briefing.

"As a result of these discussions, agreement has been arrived at patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control in the India-China border areas, leading to disengagement and a resolution of the issues that had arisen in these areas in 2020," he said.

"We will be taking the next steps on this," Misri added.

It is not immediately clear whether the agreement facilitates the restoration of patrolling rights that were in place prior to the standoff.

The Indian and Chinese militaries have been locked in the standoff since May 2020 and a full resolution of the border row has not yet been achieved though the two sides have disengaged from a number of friction points.

The ties between the two countries nosedived significantly following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.

India has been maintaining that its ties with China cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areas.

In all negotiations since the standoff began, India has been pressing the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to disengage from the Depsang and Demchok areas.

Last month, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said roughly 75 per cent of the "disengagement problems" with China are sorted out but the bigger issue has been the increasing militarisation of the frontier.

"Now those negotiations are going on. We made some progress. I would say roughly you can say about 75 per cent of the disengagement problems are sorted out," he said at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy. "We still have some things to do," he said.