India and China reach agreement on patrolling along Line of Actual Control

India and China on Monday (Oct 21) have reached an agreement on patrolling along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), said Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.

Misri said that negotiators from the two neighbouring nations had been in touch over the past few weeks to resolve the remaining issues.

"...As a result of the discussions that have taken place over the last several weeks, an agreement has been arrived at, on patrolling arrangements along the line of actual control in the India-China border area, and this is leading to dis-engagement and eventually a resolution of the issues that had arisen in these areas in 2020," said the Indian Foreign Secretary.

Watch what he said here:

The agreement is related to patrolling in Depsang and Demchok areas of the Ladakh sector and involves disengagement. 

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The announcement of the breakthrough in talks comes one day before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Kazan, Russia, for the BRICS Summit.

Despite no official confirmation, it is anticipated that a bilateral meeting between Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping will take place during the BRICS Summit.

Peace in border areas

In August, during the 31st meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs, India and China came to an agreement to maintain peace in the border regions.

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Following that, in September, the two nations agreed to "act urgently and increase their efforts" in order to accomplish complete disengagement in Ladakh.

The relations between the two neighbouring countries — both armed with nuclear weapons — have been strained ever since a confrontation in 2020 on the unmarked border resulted in the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers and unknown number of Chinese soldiers.

(With inputs from agencies)