In a significant breakthrough, India and China have reached an agreement over patrolling arrangements along the line of actual control (LAC) in border areas that would lead to disengagement and resolution of the long-running conflict that began in 2020, said Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.

“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. As a result of these discussions, agreement has been arrived at patrolling arrangements along the LAC in the India-China border areas, leading to disengagement and a resolution of the issues that had arisen in these areas in 2020. We will be taking the next steps on this,” Misri said at a press briefing on Monday ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Kazan in Russia for the 16th BRICS Summit on October 22-23.

Good development

The latest development could help India put its anti-China sentiments, that escalated after the Galwan face-off in 2020, in the back burner and move towards greater economic engagement to take care of immediate needs, according to some experts.

The LAC breakthrough is a good development achieved through patient and persevering diplomacy, S Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs has said.

“We reached an agreement on patrolling, and we have gone back to the 2020 position. With that, we can say the disengagement with China has been completed. Details will come out in due course,” Jaishankar said at a media event in New Delhi.

In 2020, relations between China and India nose-dived following the deadly Galwan valley battle which resulted in soldiers dying on both sides. Despite continuous rounds of military talks and foreign office-led discussions since then, there has been slow progress in resolution of the conflict.

The border tension led to not just strained political relations between the two  countries but economic relations also took a hit with India imposing restrictions on investments by Chinese companies. India’s bilateral trade with China, however, has been robust.

“Realpolitik influenced by economic dimension seems to have played an important part in the resolution. We have moved away from anti-China rhetoric that started in 2020. There is a recognition that we would need Chinese inputs and investments in the immediate. Over a period of time, it is necessary to reduce dependence but we cannot take a sudden decision to decouple from China,” said Biswajit Dhar, Distinguished Professor, Council for Social Development.

“India needs Chinese investments in critical sectors such as EVs and the thawing of political relations can help in improving economic ties,” a Delhi-based trade expert said.

Key import source

China was India’s top import source in 2023-24 with goods inflows worth $101 billion despite strained relations as the imports include items that are crucial inputs for Indian manufacturers..

So far, the military talks and foreign office discussions had resulted in disengagement at five friction points including the Pangong Tso’s north and south banks, patrolling points 15 and 17A at the Gogra-Hot Springs area, and Galwan. But there had been no progress in resolution of stand-offs in two critical areas, including the Depsang Plains and Demchok in eastern Ladakh.

India has been firm on its demand of achieving pre-April 2020 status quo ante (the state of affairs that existed previously) while Beijing had been calling for ‘normalisation’ of ties beyond the border dispute.

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