By Ankit Panda
The Indian Army invited Chinese troops to participate in Indian Independence Day celebrations in eastern Ladakh.
The Indian Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army met in a ceremonial border personnel meeting on August 15, India’s Independence Day. The two sides met on the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the boundary demarcating Chinese-administered land from Indian-administered land in the disputed regions of northeastern Kashmir. Specifically, the troops met in eastern Ladakh, near where Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi traveled last week and delivered a speech condemning Pakistan. According to The Hindu, a similar ceremony was held on the Chinese side of the border on August 1.
According to a public relations officer on the Indian side, Col. S.D. Goswami, “Both sides reiterated their commitment in upholding the protocols and agreements signed between the two countries and acknowledged that the peace and tranquility which prevails along the Line of Actual Control should be further strengthened and stabilized.” India and China signed a Border Defense Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) last October following a stand-off in April 2013 where a small contingent of Chinese PLA troops entered the Indian side of the LAC and set up camp for about three weeks. The BDCA was intended to swiftly resolve these sorts of incursions in the future.
Read the full story at The Diplomat