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India, China Resolve 2-Week Border Standoff


India - China, Line of Actual Control
India - China, Line of Actual Control

India's foreign minister said India and China have resolved a tense, two-week military border standoff in the northern Himalayan region.

Sushma Swaraj said Friday after meeting with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in New York that Chinese troops would begin withdrawing Friday and would be finished by Tuesday. She described the resolution as a "big accomplishment."

Hundreds of Chinese troops moved into a territory claimed by India, sparking the standoff on the remote mountainous frontier of Ladakh.

India said the Chinese troops wanted to extend a road they were building on their side of the border into territory claimed by India.

Officials say China has agreed not to extend the road into the disputed territory. In return, India has agreed to demolish a recently built observation hut.

The two countries have long been embroiled in a bitter territorial dispute and small incursions occur frequently across the Line of Actual Control, the de-facto border that runs 4,000 kilometers across the Himalayas.

The border tension overshadowed last week's visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to India and prompted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to call for a quick resolution to the border dispute.

India alleges the border incursions by China have increased in recent years, but says the latest one was one of the most serious incidents in recent times.

Anjana Pasricha contributed to this report.

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