What’s in the news?

• After the latest meeting in Moscow, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi said they agreed on a five-point course of action to disengage and reduce tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), where Indian and Chinese troops have been engaged in a four and a half month long stand-off.
• The two Foreign Ministers agreed that the border troops of both sides should continue their dialogue, quickly disengage, maintain proper distance and ease tensions.
• The meeting between the foreign ministers was facilitated and encouraged by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who hosted them at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting. 

News in detail

• The five-point plan is: 
  • following the consensus between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping to “not allow differences to become disputes”, 
  • disengaging quickly to ease tensions, 
  • abiding by the existing India-China border protocols and avoiding escalatory action, 
  • continuing the dialogue between Special Representatives National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Mr. Wang and 
  • working towards new confidence-building measures (CBMs).
• Both sides also issued separate notes detailing their positions, indicating that several differences still remain in their agreement of the situation at the LAC, which has seen violent clashes, deaths of soldiers and gunfire exchanges for the first time in 45 years this summer.
• However, neither the joint statement, nor the respective notes issued specifically spoke of a return to the “Status quo ante” or positions prior to the stand-off in April. Nor do they specifically call on China to retreat from positions it has aggressed on at Pangong Tso, Depsang and other parts of the LAC.

Reference:

1. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/lac-standoff-india-china-agree-on-5-point-plan-for-resolving-border-tension/article32577886.ece