Shakespeare &Sainte

  Look beyond dragons to multi pronged diplomacy The meeting between the foreign ministers of India and China made it clear that the situation along the Line of Actual Control and beyond is unlikely to defuse quickly or easily. Though the meeting ended with the joint statement and a 5-point action agenda for peace, China is intent on blaming India for the standoff while india has stressed the necessity of restoring the pre-April 2020 status along the LAC. Notably, the joint statement leaves actual disengagement not to any political imperative but to the troops on the border and their continued dialogue. The meeting at the political level should serve, it is to be hoped, at least to prevent further escalation of the standoff into active hostilities. The restoration of peace and tranquility is unlikely to be easy. Ahead of the meeting and after it, Beijing blamed India for the situation at the border. India has raised concern about China's troop build-up in the region and along the L...