Diplomatic milestone: PM Modi, Chinese President Xi hold first bilateral meeting in 5 years as tension eases in Ladakh

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their first bilateral meeting in nearly five years on Wednesday. Both leaders met on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia. This meeting comes just days after India and China reached an agreement on patrolling along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. This was a major breakthrough that is likely to end over four-year military standoff in Ladakh

The bilateral relations between New Delhi and Beijing deteriorated sharply since the border standoff in Ladakh began in 2020. Tensions escalated further after the deadly clash in Galwan Valley in June 2020, where 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives.

The two countries held multiple rounds of military and diplomatic talks since then to de-escalate the situation along the LAC. The breakthrough came only this week when both sides agreed on easing tensions at two friction points - Depsang and Demchok. 

This bilateral meeting marks a significant moment in India-China diplomacy, as both leaders last held a formal bilateral meeting in October 2019 at Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu. Before that, Modi and Xi held an informal summit in Wuhan in April 2018, following the Doklam standoff in 2017.

This Monday, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri announced that New Delhi had reached an agreement with China on patrolling along the LAC in eastern Ladakh. Hours later, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said Indian and Chinese soldiers would be able to resume patrolling in the way they had been doing before the border face-off began. 

"We (have) reached an agreement on patrolling and with that we have gone back to where the situation was in 2020," the foreign minister said. "We can say that the disengagement process with China has been completed. There are areas which for various reasons after 2020...because they had blocked us so we had blocked them. So what has happened is we have reached an understanding which will allow the patrolling." 

Depsang and Demchok are strategically critical areas in eastern Ladakh, located near the LAC between India and China. Depsang Plains provides a flat and open terrain essential for military maneuvers. It is located near the strategic Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) airstrip, close to the Karakoram Pass. The area also serves as a potential route for troop and supply movement between Ladakh and the Siachen Glacier.

Demchok is an equally crucial region for India. Situated along the Indus River, it offers vital access to water resources and lies near a region China contests as part of Tibet. Its location is significant for maintaining Indian connectivity to southern parts of Ladakh.