New Delhi . Following the agreement between India and China, the Indian Army began patrolling the Depsang Plains. This patrolling is important because in recent times efforts have been made to reduce tension in India-China relations. But patrolling was limited, and Indian soldiers could not reach all the patrolling points. Fire and Fury Corps in Ladakh reported that the Indian and Chinese sides agreed to withdraw troops and commence patrolling, successfully carrying out the first round of patrolling in Depsang. However, it was reported that the army was not able to patrol all the points it used to visit before the standoff began in April–May 2020.
The reason for this could be that the Indian Army is still showing caution in the context of security concerns and the deployment of Chinese troops on the LAC. Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said that we have made some progress, but there are a large number of Chinese troops deployed on the Line of Actual Control, which were not there before 2020. On October 21, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri clarified that an agreement had been reached between the two countries, leading to steps being taken to end the four-year-long standoff.
Meanwhile, Jaishankar expressed hope that more steps can be taken in the future, and this development could help in normalizing relations between the two countries. From a strategic perspective, limited patrolling by the Indian Army could be part of security management so as not to make the situation more tense.