LADKAH: India and Chinese troops on Saturday exchanged sweets and greetings at several border posts along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) including in eastern Ladakh to mark the New Year, officials said.

The gesture by both sides came in the midst of an over 18 month-long standoff between the two sides in several friction points in eastern Ladakh.

The border posts where the two sides exchanged sweets and greetings are

Hot Springs and Demchok in eastern Ladakh and Nathula and Kongra La in North Sikkim, the officials said.

The eastern Ladakh border standoff between the Indian and Chinese militaries erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong lake areas.