China says more consensus reached with India on troop removal
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BEIJING/NEW DELHI - China and India have reached more consensus on withdrawing troops from some parts of the disputed border between the two countries, Beijing said, in a further sign that tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours are easing.
A spokesman for China’s Defence Ministry, responding to a question at a media briefing on Sept 26 about disengagement at the border, said the two sides have “further narrowed differences and broadened consensus”.
Chinese and Indian officials have maintained close dialogue and exchanged opinion on the border issues via diplomatic and military channels, spokesman Zhang Xiaogang said, according to a transcript of the briefing.
“The two sides agreed to strengthen dialogue and consultation, accommodate each other’s legitimate concerns and reach a mutually acceptable solution at an early date,” Mr Zhang added.
Ties between the two countries have been frozen since June 2020 when clashes between soldiers along the disputed Himalayan border left at least 20 Indian and an unknown number of Chinese dead.
Since then, there have been incremental progress in resolving the border crisis in more than 50 rounds of diplomatic and military talks.
The latest remarks from Beijing follow meetings between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Laos in July, and India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on the sidelines of the BRICS meeting in Russia earlier in September.
In a speech on Sept 25 in New York, Mr Jaishankar said China and India have resolved 75 per cent of disengagement of troops in the eastern Ladakh region.
“The main issue right now is the patrolling,” he said. “How do we, both of us, patrol up to the Line of Actual Control?” he added. BLOOMBERG
