China And India Agree To Disengage Troops In Contested Himalayan Border

China and India have agreed to disengage troops from their contested Himalayan border. The two nations issued a joint statement on Friday announcing their plan to ease tensions and expedite new measures that would “enhance peace and tranquility.”

Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi said in a joint statement that the current situation “is not in the interest of either side” and that they would work to de-escalate renewed tensions following their high-level diplomatic meeting in Moscow.

“They agreed, therefore, that the border troops of both sides should continue their dialogue, quickly disengage, maintain proper distance and ease tensions,” said Jaishankar and Wang.

China and India reached a five-point consensus on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting this week, which came after a confrontation in the border area in the western Himalayas where China and India accused each other of firing into the air—a violation of a longstanding protocol that bans the use of firearms on the border. Under the agreement, the troops of both nations will step back from the areas of friction to ease the ongoing tension.

In a separate statement, China revealed that Wang had told Jaishankar that “the imperative is to immediately stop provocations such as firing and other dangerous actions that violate the commitments made by the two sides.” The Chinese representative also told his Indian counterpart that all personnel and equipment that have crossed the border should be moved.

Soldiers from China and India have periodically clashed along the Line of Actual Control. Both sides have accused each other of straying into their territory and their clashes have sometimes turned fatal. Earlier this week, India rejected China’s allegation that its soldiers had fired in the air, saying it was the Chinese troop that had been deliberately violating the ban against the use of firearms.

India also previously accused Chinese troops of kidnapping Indian civilians from an area near the contested border. China later confirmed that the missing Indians had been found and that arrangements were already being made to hand them over to Indian authorities.