India’s top diplomat, Vikram Misri, said on Monday that the two countries have agreed on patrolling arrangements aimed at de-escalating tensions along their disputed Himalayan border. The development comes after the 2020 clashes in Galwan Valley became the first fatal confrontation between the two nations since 1975 and led to casualties on both sides.
Misri said the agreement covers “disengagement and resolution of issues”, referring to the standoff that has maintained since the Galwan incident in June. He didn’t say if it includes all the contentious points along the disputed frontier or elaborate on how disengagement will be done.
It was done weeks before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set for a summit with BRICS nations including Brazil, India, China, and South Africa. Misri wouldn’t confirm that Modi would meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in a bilateral session on this trip.
The news marks a key development in historically strained relations between the two nuclear nations which have had several incidents since the 2020 Galwan clash. It is interesting to note that troops from both sides fought hand-to-hand, wielding clubs and batons, and this is based on an agreement of 1996 where it is not allowed to possess firearms or explosives close to the border.
Efforts to break the stalemate included several rounds of military and diplomatic dialogue over four years, but those exchanges had not earlier resulted in any major breakthrough. Skirmishes again broke out in northern Sikkim in 2021 and in the Tawang sector in 2022.
The current border scuffles have a pretext in a vaguely demarcated 3,440 km (2,100-mile) boundary marked by rivers, lakes, and snowcaps, which continues to inflame conflations at every heightened military presence on either side. Competition in constructing each other’s border infrastructure has also complicated matters as the two Asian giants have enhanced their efforts to supplant the relationship.
Despite centuries of skirmishes and an ever-present tensions over their border, both seem to be looking for openings for reconciliation in cautious optimism toward improved relations.