FMs agree to set up hotline

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 Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and China's Wang Yi on Thursday.

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.

As per an agreement announced by India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in February, the two countries will now hold talks to end close proximity deployments in other parts of Ladakh.

The standoff in Ladakh began last April, when India said Chinese soldiers had intruded deep into its side of the Line of Actual Control, or the de facto border. China said its troops were operating in its own area, accusing Indian soldiers of provocative actions.