India, China reach patrolling agreement in Ladakh, boosting prospects for Modi-Xi meeting at BRICS Summit

In a major breakthrough on the eve of the BRICS summit, the Modi government has said that India and China have reached an agreement to resume patrolling in eastern Ladakh. The development has brightened chances of a meeting between PM Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Kazan on the sidelines of the summit.

"Over the last several weeks, Indian and Chinese diplomatic and military negotiators have been in close contact with each other in a variety of forums. As a result of the discussions that have taken place over the last several weeks, an agreement has been arrived at on patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control in the India-China border area and this is leading to disengagement and eventually a resolution of the issues that had arisen in these areas in 2020," foreign secretary Vikram Misri said at a media briefing.

Indian and Chinese soldiers will be able to resume patrolling in the way they had been doing before the border face-off in May 2020, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said at a media event. He said LAC breakthrough is a good development that happened due to "patient and persevering diplomacy".


Asked likely Modi-Xi meeting, Misri said, "We are still working around the time and engagements."

This September, India and China agreed to "work with urgency and redouble their efforts" to realise complete disengagement in Ladakh as NSA Ajit Doval met Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi in Saint Petersburg on the margins of BRICS, paving the way for rebuilding ties.

Doval had conveyed to Wang that peace and tranquillity in border areas and respect for LAC are essential for normalcy in bilateral relations.

This was preceded by two meetings between Jaishankar and Wang in Astana and Vientiane in July. Jaishankar emphasised on early disengagement for overall health of ties.