India and China continue their “disengagement” in the Himalayas

The Indian and Chinese armies greet each other along the ‘Line of Actual Control’ near the Karakoram Pass in Ladakh on October 31, 2024, on the occasion of Divali. – / AFP The scene might seem comical. Thursday, October 31, Chinese and Indian soldiers stationed in the Himalayas in a tense face-to-face for four years exchanged sweets at several points on the border, on the occasion of Divali, the great Hindu festival, during which Indian families traditionally treat each other to sweets. This demonstration of kindness follows the agreement, concluded on October 21, on the border, announced by India, on the eve of a meeting between the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, and the Chinese President, Xi Jinping , the first in five years, on the sidelines of a BRICS summit (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa). Beijing had confirmed. “The two sides reached resolutions on relevant issues, which China welcomes. In the future, China will work with India to implement these resolutions. » But no details of the agreement have been made public. This concerns the restoration of the right of patrol and grazing on a portion of the demarcation line (or “line of effective control”) 3,488 kilometers long, drawn in 1962 after a blitzkrieg which ended in the debacle of India and the Chinese annexation of a large part of Ladakh. Patrols were suspended after a deadly assault on the icy heights of Ladakh on June 15, 2020, in the Galwan Valley, where 20 Indian soldiers as well as an unknown number of Chinese had perished. New Delhi accuses its neighbor of being behind the attack. Dismantling of temporary structures The day before the sweets exchange, the Indian army announced that troops had withdrawn from Depsang and Demchok, the last two friction points in Ladakh, to the six areas where the People’s Army liberation had been introduced to block India’s patrols. During the negotiations, the two rivals managed to agree on the Galwan valley, Pangong Tso lake, and the pastoral areas of Gogra and Hot Springs, by creating buffer zones. All that remained were these two pockets in eastern Ladakh. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers The dialogue is bogged down between China and India on their conflict in the Himalayas Read later New Delhi evokes “a complete disengagement”, with the dismantling of temporary structures, hangars, tents which were used to house equipment, vehicles and troops. China’s military, more terse, said troops were “making progress” in implementing the recent agreement, declining to comment on the issue of disengagement. You have 63.88% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.



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