China and India have agreed to stop deploying troops to their contested border and avoid any action that might complicate the situation there, according to news reports Wednesday and statements from both countries.
Senior military officials from both countries met earlier this week and discussed the contested Himalayan border in Ladakh, Chinese defense ministry spokesman Wu Qian said late Tuesday. They agreed to hold new military-level talks soon, the reports said.
A news release said both sides had agreed to "avoid misunderstandings and misjudgments" and "refrain from unilaterally changing the situation on the ground." Neither side will take any unilateral action.
Tensions between the two had persisted despite several attempts to find diplomatic, military and political solutions - including negotiations in Moscow this month, according to Al Jazeera news and Reuters.
Last week, India's Defense Minister Rajnath Singh accused China of violating past border agreements and expanding its troop deployments along the unmarked border. Singh told parliament India had informed China its "attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo were in violation of the bilateral agreements."
India and China share a 3,500 kilometer (2,100 mile) unmarked border through the Himalayas where an uneasy peace has held since the two countries signed a truce following a war in 1962.
There have been skirmishes at several places since April. On June 15, engagement at Galwan Valley in India's Ladakh region. At least 20 of India's soldiers died in hand-to-hand combat. China troops also suffered an unspecified number of casualties. Since then, thousands of soldiers have been deployed on both sides - with experts concerned tensions might lead to an unintentional war.
