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Overcoming India-China Border Differences Challenging Despite Agreement to
De-Escalate Tensions

Anjana Pasricha

   NEW DELHI - India and China have agreed to disengage troops and
   de-escalate tensions that flared this week along their contested
   border, but analysts say overcoming their differences will not be easy.

   The meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries was held
   in Moscow on the sidelines of a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation
   Organization.

   It came days after a fresh confrontation in Ladakh when the Indian army
   said it occupied hilltops on the south bank of the strategic Pangong
   Tso Lake as a preemptive measure when it noticed Chinese movements.
   Concerns about the volatile border deepened after both countries
   accused each other of firing warning shots for the first time in 45
   years -- long-standing protocols forbid the use of firearms.

   A joint statement Friday issued by India and China after the talks said
   that both sides agreed that the current situation on the border is not
   in the interest of either side. The statement said, "They agreed
   therefore that the border troops of both sides should continue their
   dialogue, quickly disengage, maintain proper distance and ease
   tensions."

   At some places, analysts say that troops are deployed less than a
   kilometer apart.

   "It's very tense, and I stress the word 'very' because there are large
   number of troops massed on both sides, an estimated 40,000-plus,"
   Jayadeva Ranade, who heads the Center for China Analysis and Strategy
   in New Delhi, said.

   Whether the ice has been broken at the latest round of talks remains to
   be seen.

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