India, China agree to pull back
TALKS Commanders reach ‘mutual consensus to disengage’, experts say arduous road ahead
nNEW DELHI: Indian and Chinese military commanders reached a “mutual consensus to disengage” from all “friction areas” along the contested Line of Actual Control (LAC), which has been tense since a brutal brawl on June 15 left 20 Indian troops dead in the Ladakh sector, two senior officials said on Tuesday.
But the process of disengagement is likely to be “arduous and challenging”, and will require moving ahead cautiously in phases, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The agreement was reached during an 11-hour meeting between top commanders at Moldo on the Chinese side of the LAC on Monday. The talks were aimed at cooling tensions and thinning the military build-up on both sides of the border. “The Corps Commander-level talks between India and China were held in a cordial, positive and constructive atmosphere,” one of the officials cited in the first instance said. “Modalities for disengagement from all friction areas in eastern Ladakh were discussed and will be taken forward by both the sides,” he added.
While disengaging in some friction areas was a “low-hang
LOW-HANGING FRUIT:
FINGER AREA:
NEWDELHI: Accusing the Centre of engagingin“denials,disinformation and diversions” on Chinese “intrusions” in Indian territory and mismanaging the matter, the Congress Working Committee asked the government about steps being taken to ensure status quo ante at the border.