NEW DELHI – The Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA)are for the first time coordinating patrolling of Fish-Tail II, one of the13 disputed areas along the Line of Actual Controllink(LAC)in the eastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, reports *Hindustan Times*.
This unprecedented initiative by India and China is aimed at buildingmutual confidence and maintaining peace along the LAC, a senior securityofficial underscored, speaking on condition of anonymity, Sputnik hasreported.
According to a second senior official, “coordinated patrolling” would meanthe sides would inform one another about outgoing foot patrols, areaslikely to be visited, and the duration of the patrols.
“One of the key takeaways of the 2018 Wuhan summit, which followed the73-day-long standoff between the Chinese People’s Army and the Indian Armyat Doklam, was to give strategic guidance to both armies to reduce bordertensions. The coordinated patrolling is a step in that direction,” a seniorministry of defence official said.
The proposal to carry out “coordinated patrolling” was put forward by Indiaat a high-level meeting between the Indian Army and the Chinese People’sLiberation Army in June in the run-up to the informal summit between PrimeMinister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi JinpinglinkinMamallapuram, Tamil Nadu, on 11-12 October.
The military officials of the two sides met in Arunachal’s Kibuthu, one ofthe seven designated border personnel meeting points, with Indiarepresented by the commander of the Dinjang (Assam)-based 2 MountainDivision of the III Corps of the Indian Army.
The Line of Actual Control is a loosely-demarcated boundary between the twoAsian giants stretching from Kashmir in the west to the state of ArunachalPradesh in the east.
Fish Tail-I and II are among the most remote areas along the LAC, locatedin the easternmost corner of Arunachal Pradesh; Fish Tail -I ‘s largelyglaciated terrain sees few patrols on either side.