The Chinese Ministry of National Defense announced on Wednesday that “The Chinese and Indian frontline troops at the southern and northern bank of the Pangong Tso Lake start synchronized and organized disengagement from February 10.” This follows the outcome of their ninth round of China-India Corps Commander Level Meeting.
Provided that the agreement is implemented in full, then Asia will breathe a collective sigh of relief as the two largest countries in the world finally de-escalate tensions that first surged last year following several violent incidents along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
China blamed India for the first deadly clashes between their forces in decades, while India blamed China. What’s important at this point, however, is to focus on what comes next and how such regrettable incidents can be avoided in the future. The agreement to synchronize the disengagement of their forces shows that neither side wants matters to escalate any further than they previously did.
It also speaks to the success of the difficult but ultimately successful meetings between their military representatives since then. In the end, diplomacy won out over more forceful means for resolving their differences.
That’s exactly how it should be since any large-scale armed conflict between these neighboring nations and historically connected civilizations was bound to end in a mutually detrimental outcome. After all, the 21st century is supposed to be the Asian Century according to many analysts, but that can’t unfold to its maximum potential if China and India remain at loggerheads over the LAC.
To be clear, their territorial differences aren’t conclusively resolved, but with diplomacy nowadays leading the way, there’s renewed optimism that such differences will remain manageable without either side resorting to military means again.
The international context in which their synchronized disengagement is taking place is worth mentioning. Newly inaugurated U.S. President Joe Biden is presently reviewing his country’s role in the world after the chaotic past four years of the former Donald Trump Administration.
It was the 45th U.S. president who aimed to divide and rule Asia by provoking hostilities between China and India, but with him finally out of the White House after only a single term in office, it’s interesting that they were able to patch up their differences so quickly. This likely isn’t a coincidence either since the Biden Administration is comparatively more pragmatic than the Trump one.