Trying to restore trust, reassure each other: Army Chief on patrolling pact with China

The announcement came ahead of a likely meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Russian city of Kazan on Wednesday

India will look at disengagement and de-escalation of the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh after the restoration of the status quo of April 2020, Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi said on Tuesday, a day after New Delhi announced a striking agreement with Beijing to end the over four-year border row in the region.

In his first comments on the pact regarding patrolling along the contested frontier, Gen Dwivedi stated that the Indian military is working to restore "trust," and both sides will need to "reassure each other" to achieve this objective. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri announced on Monday that India and China reached an agreement on patrolling along the LAC in eastern Ladakh, marking a major breakthrough in ending the military standoff.

The announcement came ahead of a likely meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Russian city of Kazan on Wednesday, on the sidelines of the BRICS summit. "As far as we are concerned, we want to go back to the status quo of April 2020. Thereafter, we will be looking at disengagement, de-escalation, and normal management of the LAC," he said at an interactive session. "And, this normal management of the LAC will not just stop there. There are phases in that also," he added.

In almost all negotiations with China regarding the border row, India has insisted on the restoration of the status quo ante that existed before the border standoff erupted in early May 2020. "This has been our stance since then, and even today it remains the same. So, as of now, we are trying to restore trust," the Army Chief said. "How trust will be restored? It will get restored once we are able to see each other, and we are able to convince each other, look at the buffer zones which have been created; we are not creeping," he said. "Both will have to reassure each other," he added.

The Army Chief noted that the resumption of patrolling would provide some advantages. "Patrolling gives you that kind of advantage, and that is what is commencing. As we restore trust, the other stages will follow soon," he said.

Meanwhile, China confirmed on Tuesday that it has reached an agreement with India to end the standoff between the two armies in eastern Ladakh. "Over a recent period of time, China and India have kept close communication through diplomatic and military channels on issues related to the China-India border," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said in Beijing.

Relations between the two Asian giants significantly deteriorated following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020, marking the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades. The two sides disengaged from several friction points after a series of military and diplomatic talks in the past couple of years. However, the talks faced hurdles in resolving the situation in Depsang and Demchok. It is understood that the agreement announced on Monday will facilitate patrolling in the Depsang and Demchok areas.