The United States has said that it welcomes any reduction in tension along the India-China border and noted that it has been briefed by New Delhi in this regard.
“We are closely following the developments (between India and China). We understand that both countries have taken initial steps to withdraw troops from friction points along the Line of Actual Control. We welcome any reduction in tensions along the border,” State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters at his daily news conference on Tuesday, October 29.
Responding to a question, Miller said that the US has played no role in this. “No, we have talked to our Indian partners and been briefed on it, but we did not play any role in this resolution,” he said.
China on Tuesday, October 22, confirmed that it has reached an agreement with India to end the standoff between the two armies in eastern Ladakh.
ALSO READ: China confirms agreement with India amidst diplomatic efforts to resolve border issues
“Over a recent period, China and India have been in close communication through diplomatic and military channels on issues related to the China-India border,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian had told a media briefing in Beijing.
Now, the two sides have reached a resolution on the “relevant matters,” he had said.
India on Monday, October 21, announced it has reached an agreement with China on patrolling along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, in a major breakthrough in ending the over four-year-long military standoff between the two armies.
The deal was reached before Indian PM Modi and Chinese President Xi’s meeting at the 16th edition of BRICS, which took place in Kazan, Russia from October 22 to 24.
ALSO READ: BRICS Summit: Xi Jinping agrees with Modi’s suggestions for strengthening India-China relations
The ties between the two Asian giants nosedived significantly following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.
India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, at a recent media briefing in New Delhi, said the agreement was firmed up following negotiations by the two sides over the last several weeks and that it will lead to a resolution of the issues that had arisen in 2020.
“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,” the foreign secretary said.
“As a result of these discussions, agreement has been arrived at patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control in the India-China border areas, leading to disengagement and a resolution of the issues that had arisen in these areas in 2020,” Misri said.
(With inputs from PTI.)
