India, China begin troop disengagement in Ladakh; to complete by next week

India and China have begun troop disengagement at the two friction points at Demchok and Depsang Plains in eastern Ladakh and this process is likely to get completed by October 28-29, Army sources said on Friday.

The process follows an agreement firmed up between the two countries on patrolling and disengagement of troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, a major breakthrough to end the over four-year standoff.

Sources said that patrolling will begin at the two friction points once the disengagement is done and both sides will move their respective troops and dismantle temporary structures.

Eventually, they added, the patrolling status is expected to move back to pre-April 2020 level.

The agreement framework was first agreed upon at the diplomatic level and then military-level talks took place, the army sources said, adding the nitty-gritty of agreement was worked in Corps Commander-level talks.

Adhering to agreements between the two sides, Indian troops have begun to pull back equipment to rear locations in these areas.

The ties between the two Asian giants had nosedived following a fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on October 21 said in Delhi that the agreement was finalised following negotiations over the past several weeks and that it would lead to a resolution of the issues that arose in 2020.

On October 23, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China President Xi Jinping endorsed the agreement on patrolling and disengagement along the LAC in eastern Ladakh during their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan in Russia.