Talks with China led to consensus on patrolling, grazing rights, says Rajnath
The remarks came during the Chanakya Defence Dialogue 2024, organised by the Indian Army in collaboration with the think tank Centre for Land Warfare Studies
Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said talks with China on resolving the military standoff in the Ladakh sector had resulted in consensus on patrolling and grazing rights to traditional areas, adding that this was a significant development that underscored the importance of dialogue on the global stage.
“India and China have been involved in talks both at diplomatic and military levels to resolve their differences in certain areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Pursuant to the talks, broad consensus has been achieved to restore ground situation based on the principles of equal and mutual security,” Singh said.
These were his first public comments on the border issue after India and China announced on October 21 a breakthrough in negotiations to resolve their stand-off in Depsang Plains and Demchok, the two remaining flashpoints in eastern Ladakh where the Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have been eyeball-to-eyeball for almost four-and-a-half years.
The two armies earlier disengaged from four other friction points along the LAC.
Also Read: India, China troops begin disengagement at 2 friction points in Ladakh days after agreement
The remarks came during the Chanakya Defence Dialogue 2024, organised by the Indian Army in collaboration with the think tank Centre for Land Warfare Studies. Those present included chief of defence staff General Anil Chauhan, army chief General Upendra Dwivedi, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh and navy vice chief Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan.
“The consensus achieved includes patrolling and grazing (rights) to traditional areas. This is the power of engaging in continuous dialogue because sooner or later, solutions will emerge,” the defence minister said.
The Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on India-China border affairs met in Beijing on August 29 for the 17th time since the start of the face-off in May 2020. Also, the two armies have held 21 rounds of corps commander-level talks to cool tensions along the LAC.
Singh’s comments come at a time when the Indian Army and the PLA are moving ahead to defuse border tensions under the agreement on patrolling arrangements in forward areas including Depsang and Demchok.
Although the resolution of the issue has taken more than four years, India’s perseverance has paid off, said former Northern Army commander Lieutenant General DS Hooda (retd).
“The firm stance backed by a strong military posture, and the continuous engagement at political, diplomatic and military levels has resulted in an agreement that meets most of our requirements in terms of retention of our patrolling rights,” Hooda added.
India and China on Wednesday welcomed the agreement for disengagement of troops and resolution of issues on their disputed border, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping deciding to reactivate several mechanisms to resolve the boundary issue and normalise the bilateral relationship.
The two leaders held their first structured and formal meeting in five years on the sidelines of the Brics Summit in the Russian city of Kazan, two days after India and China reached an agreement on patrolling arrangements on LAC. Among the mechanisms to be revived by the two sides is the dialogue between the Special Representatives for resolving the boundary issue.
On Wednesday, the Opposition Congress raised a raft of questions about the agreement, with its concerns primarily centered around whether the Indian Army will be able to patrol areas that were cut off due to the PLA’s forward presence in several pockets.
Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh asked if Indian troops will be able to patrol up to the country’s claim line in Depsang to five patrolling points past the ‘Bottleneck junction’ as they were able to earlier, if they will be able to visit the three patrolling points in Demchok that have remained out of bounds for more than four years, and if the army will continue to be restricted to Finger 3 on the northern bank Pangong Tso when earlier they could go as far as Finger 8.
The string of questions included one on whether Indian graziers will once again be given the right to access traditional grazing grounds in Helmet Top, Mukpa Re, Rezang La, Rinchen La, Table Top and Gurung Hill in Chushul.
India is looking at restoring the status quo ante or the situation as it existed along the LAC in April 2020, army chief General Upendra Dwivedi said on Tuesday, while calling for restoring trust between the Indian Army and PLA to cool tensions along the contested border.
Disengagement of front-line Indian and Chinese soldiers from Depsang and Demchok has begun and is likely to be completed in a few weeks, officials aware of the matter said.
The disengagement from the two friction points will involve rigourous verification to monitor the joint withdrawal of troops to a specified distance from the face-off sites, dismantling of temporary infrastructure created there, and joint verification to assess its implementation, as previously reported by HT.
The troop pullback is expected to be carried out in phases as the complex plan progresses on a verifiable basis on the ground by both sides. It will also entail the phased withdrawal of weapons and equipment to a mutually agreed distance, and finally the restoration of status quo ante (early April 2020).
The disengagement of rival troops from Depsang and Demchok will not involve the creation of so-called buffer zones, and once it is over, Indian and Chinese soldiers will patrol the areas as they did before April 2020. This disengagement will be different from the previous rounds of troop pullback that involved the creation of buffer zones.
The disengagement is expected to pave the way for de-escalation of the lingering conflict and the eventual de-induction of rival soldiers through further talks.
India and China earlier disengaged from Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso, Gogra (PP-17A) and Hot Springs (PP-15), areas where buffer zones (extending up to 4km) 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 moratorium on patrolling these areas by both sides is also expected to be lifted in due course.
To be sure, both armies still have tens of thousands of troops each and advanced weaponry deployed in the Ladakh theatre.