India, Aug. 12 -- On June 20, the first batch of 36 Indian pilgrims on the Kailash-Manosarovar Yatra crossed over to the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) in China from Nathu La in Sikkim. This came after a hiatus of five years.

The long lull in bilateral ties followed after the armies were engaged in deadly (though unarmed) fights in the western Himalaya in 2020. The 3,488-kilometre Sino-Indian border has been a source of conflict and tension for decades, the 1962 war being the lowest point in bilateral ties since China became the People's Democratic Republic (PRC) under Mao and exercised greater military and political control over TAR (so named in 1965).

The resumption of the Kailash-Manosarovar Yatra was preceded by a milestone event in ...