"Great success": Former COAS Gen VK Singh on India-China border agreement

New Delhi [India], October 24 (ANI): Former Union Minister and Former Chief of Army Staff General VK Singh on Thursday heaped praise on the India-China border agreement and said that the modalities of the decision have to be worked out by people on the ground.
"It is a very positive step that has happened and especially I would like to say that it is great success where our diplomats are concerned and in diplomacy they have been able to achieve something which was pending for quite some time. Having said this, what we must understand is that it's an agreement for disengagement and patrolling. The modalities will take time. The modalities have to be worked out by people on the ground. So far a decision has been taken which is very good. Now this decision, the nuts and bolts of this as to how it will happen will be done by people on the ground," Former Chief of Army Staff General VK Singh said while speaking to ANI.

General Singh stated that a very positive atmosphere has been created with the India-China agreement and the leaders engaged in talks will be able to come to a conclusion that is mutually beneficial to both of them.
"Various meetings will take place and then only we will see the outcome of it. But with this, I think also a very positive atmosphere has been created where both the leaders who are meeting would meet in a positive environment in something which they would be able to talk about things which are mutually beneficial to both of them," General VK Singh added.

In a major development in the 10-month-long military standoff on the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh, India and China have reached an agreement to disengage their troops from the northern and southern banks of the contentious Pangong Lake where the Chinese troops would move back to east of the Finger 8 while the Indian side would go to its Dhan Singh Thapa post near Finger 3, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced on Thursday in Rajya Sabha

In a statement in Rajya Sabha, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced that as per the agreement reached between the two sides, both countries will cease their forward deployments on the Pangong Lake in a "coordinated, phased and verified" manner where they would restore the situation to the April 2020 status.

"I am happy to inform the House today that as a result of our well thought out approach and sustained talks with the Chinese side, we have now been able to reach an agreement on disengagement in the North and South Bank of the Pangong Lake. It has also been agreed to convene the next meeting of the Senior Commanders within 48 hours after the complete disengagement in the Pangong Lake area so as to address and resolve all other remaining issues," the Minister announced.

The agreement reached between India and China on patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh "essentially pertains" to the areas of Depsang and Demchok, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said.

"Insofar as Depsang and Demchok is concerned, if you see the statements that I have made over the last 48 to 72 hours, I think the answer should be quite clear. I have made the point that the last time we had an agreement on the several issues that had arisen in the India-China border areas since 2020, the last agreement was in 2022 in September," Misri said at a media briefing here on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Russia for BRICS Summit.

"Since then, we had been involved in trying to find a resolution of the pending issues in the balance areas along the Line of Actual Control, which pertain to these areas that you have mentioned. The agreement that has been arrived at essentially pertains to these areas," he added. (ANI)