China and India are pulling back troops from the two remaining friction points along the disputed Himalayan border, days after the leaders of the two countries met.
Troops deployed toe-to-toe are moving back and temporary structures built during a four-year stalemate at the border are to be dismantled, senior Indian officials said, asking not to be identified as the discussions are private.
Earlier this week, the two nuclear-armed neighbors announced they’d reached an agreement to resume normal border patrols, easing a standoff that began in 2020 when clashes left 20 Indian and at least four Chinese soldiers dead. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi followed up with their first formal meeting in two years on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan on Wednesday.
The latest agreement won’t involve the several no-patrol zones along the border created in the last four years to prevent further clashes between troops, the people said, adding that future talks will address the buffer zones.
Pulling back troops from the friction points will take a few days, after which patrolling will start, the people said. Military commanders from both sides will continue to discuss confidence-building measures to further prevent clashes, they said.
The border agreement has raised expectations that India will ease investment restrictions on Chinese businesses, although government officials have indicated there won’t be any immediate moves. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, India’s external affairs minister, said earlier this month that a lack of trust has damaged economic ties with neighbors, without referring directly to China.
Can they use bows or crossbows? What about pikes? Just crazy how they respect rules like that when the eventual conclusion is guns.