- Wednesday, October 30, 2024
The process follows the agreement firmed up between India and China on patrolling and disengagement of troops along the Line of Actual Control
By: Shajil Kumar
TROOP disengagement at two friction points at Demchok and Depsang Plains in eastern Ladakh following a key agreement firmed up between India and China has been completed and patrolling will commence soon at these points, Indian Army sources said on Wednesday.
Exchange of sweets between the sides will take place on Diwali tomorrow, they said.
The sources added that verification post-disengagement is in progress and patrolling modalities are to be decided between ground commanders. Talks will continue at the local commander level, an Army source said.
On October 25, Army sources here said the process was likely to get completed by October 28-29.
The agreement framework was signed first at the diplomatic level and then military-level talks took place, they had said, adding the nitty-gritty of the agreement was worked on during the Corps Commander-level talks which was signed last week.
Adhering to agreements between the two sides, Indian troops then began to pull back equipment to rear locations in these areas.
The process follows the 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.
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.
Sources earlier said the areas and patrolling status were expected to be moved back to pre-April 2020 level.
China satisfied
China on Wednesday said the two militaries are implementing the “resolutions” concerning the disengagement along the LAC in an “orderly” manner.
“At the moment, the Chinese and Indian frontier troops are implementing the resolutions in an orderly way,” the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a media briefing in Beijing.
India’s foreign secretary Vikram Misri on October 21 had said in New 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 Chinese 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.
US welcomes move
The United States has said that it welcomes any reduction in tension along the India-China border and noted that it has been briefed by New Delhi in this regard.
“We are closely following the developments (between India and China). We understand that both countries have taken initial steps to withdraw troops from friction points along the Line of Actual Control. We welcome any reduction in tensions along the border,” State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters at his daily news conference in Washington on Tuesday.
Responding to a question, Miller said that the US has played no role in this.
“We have talked to our Indian partners and been briefed on it, but we did not play any role in this resolution,” Miller said. (PTI)
