| New Delhi |
Published: July 9, 2020 1:20:48 am
An Indian army convoy moves on the Srinagar- Ladakh highway at Gagangeer, northeast of Srinagar. (AP)
As it works with Beijing to reduce tensions along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, New Delhi has decided on a four-pronged disengagement approach: lower the public rhetoric, temporarily suspend patrolling of buffer zones by either side, mount sustained surveillance and reconnaissance of friction points, and keep adequate troops in depth areas until the process is completed.
This four-pillar approach, which had been in the works since the June 24 meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs and the June 30 meeting of Corps Commanders on the two sides, was firmed up at a briefing by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval to Prime Minister Narendra Modi following the Special Representative-level talks with Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on July 5.
Besides the Prime Minister and the NSA, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah were instrumental in finalising this approach. It was done between the evening of July 5 and…
