The recent disengagement process along the Line of Actual Control, along the India-China border in eastern Ladakh, raises the prospect of an improvement in the relationship between the two Asian powers, experts said.

A spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in India on Nov 5 announced, on the social media platform X, "The Chinese and Indian troops are implementing the resolutions that the two sides reached on issues concerning the border area, which is going smoothly at the moment".

Later in the day, terming the disengagement along the LAC a “positive development”, India’s Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said implementation of the agreement reached by the two countries will happen in the coming days.

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Jaishankar made his comments while holding a joint press briefing with his Australian counterpart Penny Wong in Canberra.

Asked about the recent disengagement between India and China, Jaishankar said, "On Oct 21 we concluded the last lot of disengagement agreements, we had done some earlier. These are currently in the process of being implemented. The last agreement was primarily around patrolling rights of the two sides. So we think all in all it's a positive development."

Jaishankar said, "Based on this consensus, the disengagement process is nearly complete. We will strive to move beyond just disengagement, but for that, we will need to wait a little longer."

The two neighbors announced their decision to resolve their border standoff followed by a meeting between China’s President Xi Jinping and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the recent BRICS summit in Russia, on Oct 23. This was the first bilateral meeting between the two leaders in five years.

Last week, Chinese defense ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang said that the frontline troops were “making progress in implementing the resolutions in an orderly manner”.

Analysts and commentators largely welcomed the announcement of the disengagement along the LAC.

“This has been a welcome development. That may result in overall improvement of ties between the two countries,” a former lieutenant general and defense expert, S.L. Narasimhan said.  

According to Narasimhan, consequent to the agreement signed by India and China on Oct 21, troops from both sides have disengaged from Depsang and Demchok and patrolling has started after verification of the disengagement. “This was a first positive step. This has to be followed by de-escalation, which is the second step for which discussions have to start,” he said.

“This disengagement will help India and China to normalize their relationship. It will create peace and tranquility along the border,” said Rajiv Ranjan, a professor of Chinese politics and foreign policy at the Department of East Asian Studies, University of Delhi.

Considering the benefits for both sides, India and China should resolve this standoff permanently, added Ranjan.

Last week China’s Ambassador to India Xu Feihong called the recent meeting between Xi and Modi “a new starting point” in bilateral relations.

Ties between the two countries were complicated after a border standoff in July 2020. India halted major investments by Chinese firms, including China’s largest SUV maker Great Wall Motor’s proposed $1 billion investment plan in the country, and banned hundreds of Chinese apps.

As many as 30 bilateral engagements, including strategic dialogue between the two countries, dialogue between the finance ministries, youth exchange policies, interactions between think tanks and media as well as other important entities were stalled over the past four years, said Srikanth Kondapalli, dean of the School of International Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, in New Delhi.

The successful disengagement process can facilitate other bilateral engagements, said Kondapalli.

Last week India’s defense minister Rajnath Singh called the recent disengagement process as a “major achievement” after years of diplomatic and military efforts.

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“Our efforts will be to take the matter beyond disengagement; but for that, we will have to wait a little longer,” Singh added.

At this stage, India and China need to engage on multiple fronts to expedite bilateral ties and to rebuild trust, said Rup Narayan Das, a former senior fellow at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi.

Das suggested other measures for strengthening bilateral ties, such as resuming direct flight services between the two countries, lifting visa restrictions to facilitate the cross-border flow of tourists from both sides, and exchange programs for students and other experts.