Rajnath Singh likely to meet Chinese counterpart Dong Jun in Laos next week
The possible interaction comes after disengagement by Indian and Chinese armies from Demchok and Depsang in eastern Ladakh along the LAC last month.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh is likely to meet his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun in Laos next week on the sidelines of the 11th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) Plus, people aware of the matter said on Friday.
The possible interaction comes on the backdrop of disengagement by Indian and Chinese armies from Demchok and Depsang in eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) last month, and the resumption of patrolling activity in the two areas by both sides after a gap of almost four-and-a-half years.
Singh will be in Laos for the ADMM-plus meet from November 20 to 22, the people said.
The bloc consists of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries, and its eight dialogue partners, including India, China, Japan, Russia and the United States (the ‘plus’ countries). The bloc seeks to strengthen security and defence cooperation for peace, stability, and development in the region.
The LAC disengagement was completed, and patrols by both armies resumed around 10 days after India and China on October 21 announced a breakthrough in negotiations to resolve their stand-off in Depsang and Demchok, the last two flashpoints in Ladakh where the Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) were eyeball-to-eyeball since May 2020.
As part of the disengagement process, the two armies pulled back their forward deployed troops and equipment from the two areas and dismantled temporary structures that had come up there after the military standoff began. Patrolling began after modalities were decided between ground commanders on both sides.
Last month, India and China welcomed the agreement for disengagement of troops and resolution of issues along their disputed border, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping deciding to reactivate several mechanisms to resolve the boundary issue and normalise the bilateral relationship at their first structured and formal meeting in five years on the sidelines of the Brics Summit in the Russian city of Kazan.
Disengagement from friction areas is the first step towards cooling border tensions. De-escalation of the lingering conflict and the eventual de-induction of rival soldiers must follow to restore peace and tranquillity in the sector. Both armies still have tens of thousands of troops each and advanced weaponry deployed in the Ladakh theatre.
The disengagement from Depsang and Demchok has not resulted in the creation of buffer zones, as had happened after the previous rounds of troop pullback.
India and China earlier disengaged from Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso, Gogra (PP-17A) and Hot Springs (PP-15), areas where buffer zones were created to temporarily restrict the patrolling activities of both armies in the region. The zones of separation were aimed at eliminating the possibility of violent face-offs. The lifting of the moratorium on patrolling these areas by both sides will depend on the outcome of further talks.
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