Ladakh stand-off ends as Chinese, Indian troops withdraw

BEIJING: China on Tuesday said the stand-off with India at the Ladakh region has been resolved as both sides had completed simultaneous withdrawal of troops.
India and China have completed withdrawal of troops from a stand-off at the border on Tuesday, Chinese foreign ministry said in a press release.
"On September 30, the frontier defence 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 release said.
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India and China have the determination, wisdom and capability to jointly maintain peace and stability of the border areas to create a sound environment for the expansion of bilateral relations, the Chinese foreign ministry said.
This is the first time that China has admitted there was a border stand-off.
The official line from Beijing was that the border has not been demarcated, and therefore one cannot talk about intrusion or stand-off.
It said the two countries will continue to communicate on issues relating to maintaining peace and tranquility at the border areas through the China-India border consultation and coordination mechanism. Both sides understand that friendly cooperation conforms with their common interests. Peaceful and tranquil borders are important for the growth of bilateral relations.
External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and Chinese foreign affairs minister Wang Yi had met on September 25 at the United Nations and discussed the border stand-off issue.
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The two armies were engaged in a stand-off at Chumar region in Ladakh, coinciding with the first visit of the Chinese President Xi Jinping to India.
Tension in the area erupted on September 21 when some Chinese workers, who were constructing a road on their side, crossed into the Indian side and also claimed that they had orders to build a road up to Tible, 5-km deep inside Indian territory.
(With inputs from PTI)