A lot happens every day. Alliances shift, leaders change, and conflicts erupt. With In Brief, we’ll help you make sense of it all. Each week, experts will dig deep on a single issue happening in the world to help you better understand it. ***A 2020 deadly clash between Indian and Chinese soldiers along the Line of Actual Control intensified the long-simmering tensions before the two countries. In October, both sides made announcements that they had reached agreement on several issues regarding the disputed border area. A few days later, on Oct. 23, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and General Secretary President Xi Jinping met during the BRICS summit. While some observers hailed the developments as indicating a thaw in relations, others expressed caution. We asked three experts to provide their insights.Read more below.Akriti Vasudeva Fellow in the South Asia Program Stimson CenterTo casual observers, India and China finally agreeing to a border deal that begins to resolve their ongoing military standoff and Modi and Xi holding their first bilateral meeting in five years would surely look like a reset. To naysayers, the fact that India and China still continue to deploy thousands of troops along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh — the site of their military confrontation since spring 2020 — would suggest two countries on the precipice of a crisis. The truth is somewhere in between. While the understanding reached between New Delhi and Beijing on Oct. 21 serves to pull troops back from being eyeball to eyeball on the icy heights of the Himalayas and allows for patrolling by both sides, it only dismantles semi-permanent infrastructure and does not preclude the winter deployment of troops. Similarly, while India and China may resume visas and religious travel, it will be hard to undo the acrimony in the Indian populace vis-à-vis Beijing, particularly after the
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A lot happens every day. Alliances shift, leaders change, and conflicts erupt. With In Brief, we’ll help you make sense of it all. Each week, experts will dig deep on a single issue happening in the world to help you better understand it. ***A 2020 deadly clash between Indian and Chinese soldiers along the Line of Actual Control intensified the long-simmering tensions before the two countries. In October, both sides made announcements that they had reached agreement on several issues regarding the disputed border area. A few days later, on Oct. 23, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and General Secretary President Xi Jinping met during