NEW DELHI: India and China have reached a deal on patrolling their disputed frontier to end a four-year military stand-off, the Indian foreign minister said on Monday, paving the way for improved political and business ties between the Asian giants.
The news came on the eve of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Russia for an Oct. 22-24 summit of the BRICS regional grouping, during which he could hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian officials said.
Relations between the world’s two most populous nations — both nuclear powers — have been strained since clashes between their troops on the largely undemarcated frontier in the western Himalayas left 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers dead in 2020.
The two sides had since stopped patrolling several points along the border in the Ladakh region to avoid new confrontations, while moving tens of thousands of new troops and military equipment closer to the freezing highlands.
“We reached an agreement on patrolling, and with that we have gone back to where the situation was in 2020 and we can say ... the disengagement process with China has been completed,” Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said at a NDTV media conclave.
The “understanding was reached only today,” he said, adding: “We always said that if you disturb the peace and tranquility how can the rest of the relationship go forward?“
To avoid clashes, the two militaries will patrol contested points along the border according to an agreed schedule, a senior Indian military officer aware of the details told Reuters.
Both sides will monitor the area in Ladakh to ensure that there are no violations, the officer added.
Authorities in Beijing offered no immediate response to India’s remarks.
REGULAR REVIEW, MONITORING
Officials in New Delhi said the pact clears the path for a likely bilateral meeting between Modi and Xi on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, which will be their first since 2020.
The senior military officer said that both sides would pull back their troops a little from current positions to avoid face-offs, but would be allowed to patrol these areas according to a schedule that is being worked out.
Monthly review meetings and regular monitoring of the contested areas by both sides would ensure there are no violations, he added.
Deependra Singh Hooda, a retired senior Indian army officer who was a commander for a part of the China frontier, said that while the two sides would need fresh confidence-building measures, “at least the impasse has been broken.”
Slow progress during talks over the last four years to end the stand-off damaged business ties between the two large economies, with New Delhi tightening scrutiny of investment by Chinese firms and halting major projects.
India’s tougher vetting of all Chinese investment after the clashes effectively turned away billions of dollars from the likes of carmakers BYD and Great Wall Motor, and added more red tape in Indian firms’ interactions with Chinese stakeholders.
However, Indian imports from China have surged 56 percent since the 2020 border clash, nearly doubling New Delhi’s trade deficit with Beijing to $85 billion. China remains India’s biggest source of goods and was its largest supplier of industrial products last year.
Asked about the impact of Monday’s pact on trade with and investment from China, Jaishankar said: “It has just happened. There will be meetings to see what the next steps will be. I wouldn’t go so fast.”
India, China reach pact to resolve border conflict, Indian foreign minister says
https://arab.news/c4y7e
India, China reach pact to resolve border conflict, Indian foreign minister says
- The news came on the eve of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Russia for a regional summit
- Relations between the two nations have been strained since 2020 clashes on largely undemarcated frontier
UN’s top court opens Myanmar Rohingya genocide case
- The Gambia filed a case against Myanmar at the UN’s top court in 2019
- Verdict expected to impact Israel’s genocide case over war on Gaza
DHAKA: The International Court of Justice on Monday opened a landmark case accusing Myanmar of genocide against its mostly Muslim Rohingya minority.
The Gambia filed a case against Myanmar at the UN’s top court in 2019, two years after a military offensive forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya from their homes into neighboring Bangladesh.
The hearings will last three weeks and conclude on Jan. 29.
“The ICJ must secure justice for the persecuted Rohingya. This process should not take much longer, as we all know that justice delayed is justice denied,” said Asma Begum, who has been living in the Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district since 2017.
A mostly Muslim ethnic minority, the Rohingya have lived for centuries in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state but were stripped of their citizenship in the 1980s and have faced systemic persecution ever since.
In 2017 alone, some 750,000 of them fled military atrocities and crossed to Bangladesh, in what the UN has called a textbook case of ethnic cleansing by Myanmar.
Today, about 1.3 million Rohingya shelter in 33 camps in Cox’s Bazar, turning the coastal district into the world’s largest refugee settlement.
“We experienced horrific acts such as arson, killings and rape in 2017, and fled to Bangladesh,” Begum told Arab News.
“I believe the ICJ verdict will pave the way for our repatriation to our homeland. The world should not forget us.”
A UN fact-finding mission has concluded that the Myanmar 2017 offensive included “genocidal acts” — an accusation rejected by Myanmar, which said it was a “clearance operation” against militants.
Now, there is hope for justice and a new future for those who have been displaced for years.
“We also have the right to live with dignity. I want to return to my homeland and live the rest of my life in my ancestral land. My children will reconnect with their roots and be able to build their own future,” said Syed Ahmed, who fled Myanmar in 2017 and has since been raising his four children in the Kutupalong camp.
“Despite the delay, I am optimistic that the perpetrators will be held accountable through the ICJ verdict. It will set a strong precedent for the world.”
The Myanmar trial is the first genocide case in more than a decade to be taken up by the ICJ. The outcome will also impact the genocide case that Israel is facing over its war on Gaza.
“The momentum of this case at the ICJ will send a strong message to all those (places) around the world where crimes against humanity have been committed,” Nur Khan, a Bangladeshi lawyer and human rights activist, told Arab News.
“The ICJ will play a significant role in ensuring justice regarding accusations of genocide in other parts of the world, such as the genocide and crimes against humanity committed by Israel against the people of Gaza.”
