The military talks to ease tensions between India and China are still underway. On Tuesday, both the sides agreed to strengthen communication ties, avoid actions that would escalate tensions between the two countries and refrain from sending more troops to the border.

Five points of agreement were set forth after the sixth round of talks between the senior military commanders. The sixth round lasted for 15 hours and aimed at limiting the tensions along with friction points in eastern Ladakh.

So, what exactly is the India-China five-point agreement?

Both the sides need to be guided by the consensus of the leaders (PM Modi and President XI) on developing relations and preventing differences to become disputes.

The ongoing situation in the border areas is not in the favour of either side. This calls for the border troops of both sides should continue their dialogue, quickly disengage, in order to maintain proper distance and ease tensions.

The two sides should abide by the agreements and protocols on the Sino-Indian border issues to maintain tranquillity on the borders and avoid any action that could escalate matters.

Both nations must be persistent in their dialogue through the Special Representative mechanism, involving NSA Ajit Doval and Wang Yi, as well as the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on the India-China border issue at the Joint Secretary level.

With the easing situation, the two sides need to expedite and conclude new confidence-building measures to maintain peace and tranquillity.

Though the two sides have inked towards a quick disengagement, there is no clear mention of final restoration of status quo ante in the five points.

As per the Chinese press release, state councillor Wang Yi told S Jaishankar that the ties between the two countries had come to a crossroads, but he believed that the difficulties could be overcome.

The Minister of External Affairs of India S Jaishankar told Wang Yi, "The main agenda is to ensure a comprehensive disengagement of troops in all the areas of friction. The timing and phasing of the process could be worked out by military commanders."

First Published:Sept 23, 2020 4:51 PM IST