"High probability of meeting between PM Modi, President Xi": Former Indian envoy on patrolling agreement between India-China

New Delhi [India], October 22 (ANI): Gautam Bambawale, former Indian Ambassador to China, Bhutan, and Pakistan said that the recent agreement on border patrolling between India and China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) has opened up possibilities for a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in Kazan along the sidelines of the BRICS Summit and asserted that the probability of a meeting between the two leaders is "very high."

He also noted that although India and China reached an agreement on patrolling arrangements ahead of the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, this breakthrough is the result of discussions and negotiations between India and China, with no involvement from Russia.
While speaking with ANI, Bambawale said, "On this question of the recent agreement on patrolling along the LAC, especially in eastern Ladakh, I do not think the Russians must have had a hand in it. It would have been discussions between India and China and negotiations between India and China that led to this agreement."

He added, "Now that the problems on the border along the LAC have been sorted out, I think there is a very high probability that our Prime Minister Modi and the President of China, Xi Jinping, could have a bilateral meeting in Kazan. I think it would be a meeting to break the ice. I don't expect some great warmth suddenly. It will take time to rebuild the relationship from the setback that it had in the Summer of 2020. This situation has gone on for 4.5 years. So it will take some time to repair the relationship but I think this agreement will be a start and if there's a meeting between the two leaders at the summit level in Kazan on the sidelines of BRICS, then that will be another step towards restoring the relationship to what it was earlier."

Bambawale further said that the agreement on patrolling arrangements implies that China is willing to restore the relationship between the two nations to its pre-2020 state, paving the way for progress in other sectors such as trade, commerce, and investment.
He said, "The agreement has come just before the BRICS summit takes place in the next few days in Kazan in Russia. I think what this implies is that the Chinese side is wanting to restore the relationship between India and China to what it was earlier. It wants the other aspects of the relationship like trade, commerce and investment to move ahead. It will of course take some time to restore the trust between the two countries. But at least I think a beginning can be made and perhaps there might be a meeting at the topmost level between PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping at Kazan."

The former Indian Ambassador further noted that the agreement between India and China is expected to significantly boost the BRICS grouping, despite not necessarily indicating a closer relationship between India and Russia or China. "I won't say India is moving closer to Russia and China but I think the BRICS grouping will be immeasurably strengthened because of this understanding between India and China because of the cooling of tensions on the border between India and China and as India has always said that a peaceful border means that the rest of the relatrionship can also move ahead. So I believe that a better relationship between India and China will be better for the BRICS grouping," Bambawale told ANI.

Bambawale further said, "If this implies that the status quo ante has been restored as it existed before the Chinese undertook the military action in eastern Ladakh in summer of 2020... then I think this is a very welcome development. The government of India should be congratulated on taking a firm position on this matter and that India's stand has been vindicated after 4.5 years of face-to-face situation between Indian and Chinese troops. If it means that the status quo ante has been restored, then we definitely welcome this agreement. It is a good agreement and we can move forward on the basis of this agreement."

Notably, a day before, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, who addressed a special media briefing ahead of PM Modi's visit to Russia for the BRICS Summit, said India and China have reached an agreement on the patrolling arrangements along LAC.
The agreement was reached ahead of the BRICS Summit which will be attended by PM Modi and Chinese President Xi.
"On several areas along the Line of Actual Control, we held discussions with Chinese interlocutors, both on diplomatic as well as the military levels through meeting with military commanders at various levels. These discussions had in the past resulted in the resolution of standoffs at various locations. There are some locations and areas where stand-offs had not been resolved," said Misri.

"Now, as a result of the discussions taking place over the last several weeks an agreement has been arrived at on patrolling arrangements along the LAC in the India-China border areas. This is leading to disengagement and eventually a resolution of the issues that had arisen in these areas in 2020," he added. (ANI)