{{India and China simultaneously withdrew troops from camps a few meters apart in a Himalayan desert on Sunday, apparently ending a three-week standoff on a freezing plateau where the border is disputed and the Asian giants fought a war 50 years ago.}}
India says Chinese troops intruded into its territory on the western rim of the Himalayas on April 15. Some officials and experts believe the incursion signaled Chinese concern about increased Indian military activity in the area.
A group of about 30 Chinese soldiers, backed by helicopters, had pitched several tents near a 16th century Silk Road campsite called Daulat Beg Oldi, close to an air strip New Delhi uses to support troops on the Siachen glacier.
The two sides stood down after reaching an agreement during a meeting between border commanders, an Indian army official said after the tension threatened to overshadow a planned visit by India’s foreign minister to Beijing on Thursday.
But it was not immediately clear how far China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers had withdrawn – Delhi had claimed they were 19 km (12 miles) beyond the point it understands to be the border with China, a vaguely defined de facto line called the Line of Actual Control, which neither side agrees on.
Defence and foreign ministry spokesmen did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“Our troops have moved one kilometer backwards from the position they were on since April 16,” said the officer, from the Indian army’s Northern Command, which oversees the disputed region on the fringes of India’s Jammu and Kashmir state.
“Chinese troops have also moved away from their position they were holding on since April 15 when they intruded in Indian territory. It is not clear yet how (far) the PLA moved back.”
India considered it the worst border incursion for years.
New Delhi often appears insecure about relations with its powerful neighbor, despite slowly warming relations between Asia’s largest countries. China is India’s top trade partner, but the unresolved border sours the friendship.
India’s opposition and much of the media has been critical of the government’s handling of the standoff, drawing parallels with a 1962 war which ended in its humiliating defeat.
On Friday, parliament was adjourned after members shouted “Get China out, save the country”.
{Agencies}
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