NEW DELHI: India and China have agreed to set up a hotline between their foreign ministers as the two nuclear-armed neighbours look to reduce tensions along a disputed Himalayan border where their troops have been locked in confrontation since last summer.

The decision was reached at a lengthy call between the two foreign ministers on Thursday, India’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday, adding that New Delhi was pushing for an quick resolution to the border crisis.

“A prolongation of the existing situation was not in the interest of either side,” India’s foreign ministry said in a statement, citing the conversation between Fore­ign Minister S. Jaishankar and China’s Wang Yi.

On Sunday, both countries said their troops had pulled out from a lake area in the western Himalayan region of Ladakh, where thousands of soldiers backed by tanks and artillery have been facing off since April.

Published in Dawn, February 27th, 2021