In a major development in the India-China border issue, the Chinese troops withdrew from the Depsang area of Y Junction and Raki Nala of Ladakh. The report especially mentioned that the Chinese Army has shifted back to its territory. Besides, the report also claimed that the Indian Army can now patrol Y Junction and Raki Nala as per the norms decided in earlier meetings. The positions which were earlier blocked by the Chinese army were dismantled and moved to their places, as per the report.
The latest report came less than two months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a "historic" bilateral meeting in Russia's Kazan on the sidelines of the Brics Summit.
Earlier last month, Indian and Chinese troops completed disengagement at two friction points at Demchok and Depsang Plains in eastern Ladakh. Indian and Chinese troops exchanged sweets at several border points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on the occasion of Diwali.
The move marks a significant development in the pursuit of reduced tension along the LAC in eastern Ladakh since the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.
Doval going to Beijing
Amid the recent thaw in ties that followed the completion of disengagement process in eastern Ladakh, NSA Ajit Doval will visit Beijing this week for what will be the 23rd meeting of the special representatives (SRs) of India and China. This will be the first meeting between the SRs since the border standoff erupted in eastern Ladakh in May 2020.
The SR meeting will take place in Beijing on Dec 18. Doval will hold talks with Chinese SR and State Councillor Wang Yi, who also doubles up as the Chinese foreign minister. While the two met on several occasions on the margins of multilateral events in the past five years, they last met for SR talks in Dec 2019 in New Delhi.
