India and China have agreed to explore demarcating their disputed border, a key move toward resolving decades-old territorial disputes as the neighbors look to recalibrate ties against the backdrop of strained India-US relations.

India and China are aware of the “very high political, economic and military cost of frozen relations,” he says. “China felt it had pushed India too close to the U.S. while India realized that it was losing its vaunted strategic autonomy by getting too close to Washington and turning Beijing into an adversary.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday, where they are expected to discuss long-standing territorial disputes in the Himalayan mountain region of Ladakh.