Under pressure from the BJP, Delhi had decided to cancel external affairs minister Salman Khurshid’s trip to Beijing. But all is well that ends well. The Chinese leadership has decided to pull back its troops which had entered Indian territory on April 15. The stand-off on Ladakh had been unfortunate. Delhi tried to marginalize the issue in public and resolve it diplomatically. Beijing however flatly refused to pull back its troops as it claimed that the territory was disputed. It also asked for significant concessions from India such as dismantling of the Indian border infrastructure. Then Delhi turned hawkish and decided to cancel Khurshid’s trip. It may have aggravated the crisis and queered the pitch for Chinese Premier Li Kequiang’s visit to India later this month. As this was Li’s first visit abroad, it emphasized India’s importance in China’s international equations. Postponement of the visit would have embittered Sino-Indian relations for a long period.
It is not clear if India has made major concessions to persuade China to back off. Both sides are reported to have agreed to withdraw from the disputed territory. The terms of the cooling off must be made public. If India has agreed to dismantle its military infrastructure in response to China’s modernization, the political impact is likely to be extremely regrettable. The shroud of secrecy over border negotiations (including Arunachal Pradesh) has to lift. The UPA should present a full report on how the current thaw has come about. It should be made clear what is holding up India’s modernization on the LoAC. Whatever may be the inside story, the present reconciliation must be welcome.