Seeking to defuse recurring border tension, India and China today inked a comprehensive pact which commits the two countries not to use military capability to attack each other. The Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) was signed after extensive talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang in Beijing, the two countries also agreed not to tail each other's patrol along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) which has witnessed numerous incursions by Chinese troops at Depsang Valley in Ladakh.
The BDCA facilitates the establishment of a hotline between the military headquarters of the two countries and meeting sites for border personnel in all sectors of the 4000-km LAC.
The talks between the two Prime Ministers at the Great Hall of
the People lasted over three hours. The Prime Minister said that agreement on border defence cooperation will add to the existing instrument to ensure peace, stability on the borders. Dr. Singh and Li met for the second time this year for “fruitful and productive “discussions.
In all, nine agreements, including the BDCA and one on strengthening cooperation on trans-border rivers, were signed after restricted and delegation-level talks.
During the talks, India objected to stapled visas issued by China to residents of some Indian states .Dr Singh told the media after the talks that he had conveyed to Premier Li our commitment to visa simplification to facilitate travel of Chinese nationals to India and expressed the hope that China will also facilitate such exchanges.
The Foreign Secretary present in the talks asserted that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India but refused to go into details of
the discussions. She told media that she has shared the details she could share with the media at the moment.
The two sides agreed that they shall not follow or tail patrols of the other side in areas where there is no common understanding of the LAC, and in case of a doubtful situation, clarifications will be sought and got through established mechanisms.
