Minister to visit China after end of stand-off
Source: Agencies |
May 7, 2013, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
India's foreign minister will visit China this week after the two countries agreed to end a three-week stand-off over their disputed Himalayan border.
External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid will hold discussions in Beijing on Thursday, according to an Indian foreign ministry statement. The trip comes ahead of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's scheduled visit to India later this month.
The crisis began when New Delhi accused Chinese troops of crossing the de facto border between the countries on April 15. About 50 Chinese soldiers were said to have pitched tents in the Depsang valley in the Ladakh region of eastern Kashmir.
China dismissed the reports, saying its troops were on Chinese territory, on their side of the Line of Actual Control that serves as the de facto border. As tensions rose, India moved soldiers into the area in Ladakh so that the two sides were just 300 meters apart facing each other across barren terrain.
China's foreign ministry said yesterday that China and India had ended the stand-off.
"China and India have reached an agreement on resolving the incident in the western section of the border. The frontier forces of the two countries have terminated the stand-off at the Tiannan River Valley area," ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.
Since troops from the two sides began facing off in the western section of the China-India border last month, both sides have moved forward and adopted a constructive and cooperative attitude and calmed the tensions through border-related mechanisms, diplomatic channels and border defense meetings, she said.
China would like to work with India to reach a "fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable resolution to border issues" at the earliest possible date, Hua added.
In New Delhi, external affairs spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said the governments had agreed to pull their troops back to positions they held prior to the recent stand-off.
Border commanders from both sides met to work out the arrangements.
According to Indian media reports, they held two meetings where they agreed on a simultaneous withdrawal of troops to their original positions and the removal of tents in the area.
External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid will hold discussions in Beijing on Thursday, according to an Indian foreign ministry statement. The trip comes ahead of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's scheduled visit to India later this month.
The crisis began when New Delhi accused Chinese troops of crossing the de facto border between the countries on April 15. About 50 Chinese soldiers were said to have pitched tents in the Depsang valley in the Ladakh region of eastern Kashmir.
China dismissed the reports, saying its troops were on Chinese territory, on their side of the Line of Actual Control that serves as the de facto border. As tensions rose, India moved soldiers into the area in Ladakh so that the two sides were just 300 meters apart facing each other across barren terrain.
China's foreign ministry said yesterday that China and India had ended the stand-off.
"China and India have reached an agreement on resolving the incident in the western section of the border. The frontier forces of the two countries have terminated the stand-off at the Tiannan River Valley area," ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.
Since troops from the two sides began facing off in the western section of the China-India border last month, both sides have moved forward and adopted a constructive and cooperative attitude and calmed the tensions through border-related mechanisms, diplomatic channels and border defense meetings, she said.
China would like to work with India to reach a "fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable resolution to border issues" at the earliest possible date, Hua added.
In New Delhi, external affairs spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said the governments had agreed to pull their troops back to positions they held prior to the recent stand-off.
Border commanders from both sides met to work out the arrangements.
According to Indian media reports, they held two meetings where they agreed on a simultaneous withdrawal of troops to their original positions and the removal of tents in the area.
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