China/India/Kashmir: India and China Step Back from Standoff in Kashmir

Sep 26, 2014 | Hari Kumar, New York Times
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NEW DELHI — India and China have agreed to defuse the nearly three-week-old standoff between troops in the disputed border region of Ladakh, Kashmir, the Indian foreign minister, Sushma Swaraj, told reporters on Friday after meeting in New York with her Chinese counterpart.The two sides agreed to begin withdrawing troops immediately to the positions they occupied on Sept. 1, Ms. Swaraj said.India and China have sparred for decades over their border, but the recent face-off was unusually long and tense, coming just before a landmark meeting between President Xi Jinping of China and India‘s new prime minister, Narendra Modi. At times the confrontation overshadowed the two leaders’ discussion about deepening trade relations.