By Shannon Tiezzi
Both sides withdrew their troops according to a previously negotiated agreement.
Chinese and Indian troops have both withdrawn from a disputed border region, China’s Foreign Ministry announced Wednesday. The mutual withdrawal ended a two-week long stand-off that cast a shadow over Chinese President Xi Jinping’s first official visit to India.
The stand-off in the disputed region of Ladakh began just prior to Xi’s arrival in India on September 18. PLA troops crossed the Line of Actual Control (LoAC) that separates Indian and Chinese-controlled territory. The PLA troops were met by Indian forces; at the height of the stand-off, each side had about 1,000 troops in the area.
The stand-off continued until late last week, when Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. “Both nations sat down and resolved it,” Swaraj told reporters after the meeting. The two sides agreed to withdraw their troops to their previous positions on either side of the LoAC. Withdrawals began on September 26 and wrapped up September 30. China’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that the process had been completed as planned. “On Sept. 30, the frontier defense troops of the two countries completed simultaneous withdrawal according to the steps formulated by the two sides and restored peace and tranquility in the area,” the ministry stated in a press release.
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