China, India sign agreement to end longstanding border dispute News
China, India sign agreement to end longstanding border dispute

[JURIST] Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [official profile] signed an historic border agreement Monday, ending nearly four decades of tense relations between the two nations. The agreement provides for the peaceful resolution of a final border demarcation, which will rely on clearly identifiable geographical features as agreed upon by both nations, while listening to the preferences of border region communities. The two nations have been in a state of unofficial armed conflict since a violent border dispute flared in 1962 [OnWar.com backgrounder]. There has been little violence in the area recently however, due in large part to temporary agreements signed in 1993 and 1996. Monday's agreement did not spell out a cease-fire line, but the documents contained provisions for its establishment. Read a press statement on the agreement from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs. AFP has more.