 "Indian Army soldiers stand on a snow-covered road, bordering China. File image/AFP")
On Monday, the External Affairs Ministry announced that India and China had agreed to resolve the stand-off at the border.
New Delhi and Beijing had been locked in a stand-off over the Line of Actual Control – a 3,488 kilometre border in the Himalayas separating the two nations –for the past four years.
Relations between the two nations had nosedived significantly following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020.
China confirmed the development on Tuesday through its Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian.
“Over a recent period, China and India have been in close communication through diplomatic and military channels on issues related to the China-India border,” Jian said.
“Now the two sides have reached a resolution on the relevant matters which China speaks highly of,” Jian said.
Going forward China will work with India to implement these resolutions, he added.
Now, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping set to hold bilateral talks on the margins of the BRICS summit in Russia — their first structured meeting since the eastern Ladakh border row erupted in May 2020.
With that as the backdrop, let’s examine the three Ds — disengagement, de-escalation and de-induction in the India-China agreement.
Let’s take a closer look:
What do the terms mean?
First, let’s examine what the terms mean.
According to Carnegie India, disengagement can be defined as both sides stepping back from confrontation.
Deepak Kumar, research fellow at the Manohar Parrikar IDSA, New Delhi, writes that disengagement can be defined as withdrawal from a stated military policy, military involvement, or a position.
A RAND study by Hans Speier states that disengagement has three features:
It requires bilateral action
It can be enforced if enemy lacks a credible threat
Can be grounded on present and future intentions
Kumar defines military disengagement as ‘breaking off’ from a military action with the enemy and extracting troops from the area.
It can be a way to allow other facets of power to take over, while setting the military free to look towards other and future requirements.
De-escalation, on the other hand, is when both countries’ forces return to certain areas at a remove from the disputed location. This also involves putting certain measures in place to avoid a return to conflict, as per Carnegie.
Kumar writes that the term in the military is often used to describe the spectrum of conflict – which can range from pre-crisis to the nuclear war.
This refers to moving from a higher spectrum of conflict to a lower spectrum.
As per Carnegie India, de-induction, meanwhile, can be defined as a vow from both sides to deploy just a certain number of troops and weapons in a particular area.
It can also be defined as troops and equipment being forever removed from the particular area.
But what do these terms mean in relation to the India-China agreement?
What they mean in this context
As per Economic Times, the pact between the two countries starts with disengagement.
This basically means both sides return to their previous positions.
China has described this as a “complete disengagement of frontline troops”.
Meanwhile, India has said both countries should ensure a “phased and stepwise de-escalation in border areas.”
India basically is asking China to decrease the military build-up in the hinterland to bring down tensions.
De-escalation, on the other hand, is the end point, as per Economic Times.
The newspaper, however, pointed out that the Chinese statement makes no mention of de-escalation.
It merely ends at disengagement and then states that differences over boundaries should not affect other facets of ties.
“We hope India can work with China to guide public opinion in the right direction…advance bilateral exchanges…and avoid amplifying differences and complicating matters so as to jointly uphold the big picture of China-India relations,” China’s statement read.
The newspaper pointed out that China, as the outcome of disengagement, is eyeing normalising ties with India.
What is happening on the ground?
The Print reported that India and China have agreed to resume patrolling the “agreed perceived Line of Actual Control.”
This includes in Depsang Plains and Demchok.
The nations earlier disengaged at Galwan, the north bank of Pangong Tso, Kailash Range and the Gogra-Hot Springs – thus creating ‘buffer zones’ in these areas.
However, troop sizes will not be reduced immediately – barring the reduction in numbers that occur every winter.
Patrolling at all the patrol points (PPs) – mostly along the Line of Actual Control which are unmanned – will now resume from PP10 to PP13.
This is a return to the status quo prior to the clashes in 2020.
The two sides will continue to discuss complete disengagement, the outlet cited sources as saying.
The outlet quoted Indian Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi as saying on Tuesday that above all, trust remains most important component of the relationship between India and China.
Dwivedi made the remarks while speaking at an event entitled Decade of Transformation: Indian Army in Stride with the Future at the United Service Institution of India (USI) in New Delhi.
“As far as we are concerned, we were looking at going back to the status quo of April 2020. Thereafter, we will be looking at disengagement, de-escalation and normal management of LAC,” Dwivedi said.
He added that “normal management of LAC” will be achieved in a time-bound manner.
“We have been asserting our stance from April 2020 when Lt Gen YK Joshi was the Army Commander, and even today, it remains the same.”
“As of now, we are trying to restore trust … It will get restored once we are able to see each other and are able to convince each other that the buffer zones created … we are not keeping,” Dwivedi added.
“Patrolling gives us that kind of advantage. So that’s something which is commencing. And as we are restoring trust, the other stages will also follow through soon.”
Dwivedi’s statement came a day after Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri announced the agreement with China.
“Over the last several weeks, Indian and Chinese diplomatic and military negotiators have been in close contact with each other in a variety of forums… as a result of these discussions, agreement has been arrived on patrolling arrangement along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) along India-China border leading to disengagement and resolution of the issues that had risen in these areas in 2020. And we will be taking the next step on this,” Misri told reporters.
Experts say the two countries have a long way to go.
“In all, the needle is now at the point from where China would want to draw the focus away from the boundary to other issues. But India is not willing to oblige just yet. So, a cautious long watch is in order — from disengagement to de-escalation,” the Economic Times piece summed up.