India and China reached an agreement on patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) after a series of discussions and deliberations at both diplomatic and military levels. The breakthrough comes after a military standoff between the two countries in Eastern Ladakh since 2020. Defence sources reportedly said that the agreement pertains to friction points in Depsang, Demchok and other areas where disengagement has already taken place. “Over the past several weeks, Indian and Chinese diplomatic and military negotiators have been in close contact with each other on a variety of fora. As a result of these discussions, an agreement has been reached on patrolling arrangements along the LAC in the border areas, leading to disengagement and a resolution of the issues that had arisen in these areas in 2020. We will be taking the next steps on this," Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said in a press conference on Monday. While the Ministry of External Affairs did not elaborate on the design and process of the agreement, Defence officials stated that it was reached after several meetings between diplomats from both countries, with active participation from their respective militaries. They emphasised that in addition to Corps Commanders level talks in February and the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) in August this year, meetings and consultations were held regularly.  
