After nearly four and a half years, the Indian Army has returned to patrolling Depsang in eastern Ladakh, returning the ground situation in the forward area along the disputed Line of Actual Control (LAC) to its pre-April 2020 state prior to the start of the India-China military standoff, people with knowledge of the situation said Monday.
“Following the consensus reached between the Indian and Chinese sides for disengagement and resumption of patrolling in Depsang and Demchok, the Indian Army patrol to one of the patrolling points in Depsang was successfully conducted today. This is yet another positive step towards maintaining peace and tranquillity on the LAC,” the Leh-based HQs 14 Corps said on X.
Following the disengagement of the Chinese and Indian troops from Demchok and confirmation of the troop and equipment withdrawal to a mutually agreed-upon distance from the face-off areas, this development occurred.
The verification was finished in accordance with the border tension-reduction agreement that China and India agreed. Unmanned aerial vehicles, other aerial surveillance tools, and satellite pictures of the regions were all used.
Two days after India and China declared a breakthrough in negotiations to end their standoff in Depsang and Demchok, the final two flashpoints in Ladakh where the Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have been at odds since May 2020, the disengagement started on October 23.
The Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) removed temporary structures that had been up in the two regions during the start of the military standoff and withdrew their forward-deployed troops and equipment as part of the disengagement procedure.
Patrolling modalities were decided between ground commanders on both sides, the people said.
This marks the end of a two-year negotiating stalemate between the Indian Army and PLA. The final round of disengagement from Patrolling Point-15 in the Gogra-Hot Springs region occurred in September 2022, following which the negotiations came to a standstill.
Former director general of military operations Lieutenant General Vinod Bhatia (retd) previously stated that the disengagement has made it easier for both sides to patrol in a coordinated manner and at the agreed-upon frequency and strength (of the patrolling parties). He also added that the two sides can now map out a course to bring peace and tranquilly back along the LAC.
On the basis of “continuous efforts,” India and China agreed on Wednesday to restore the ground situation in some places along the Line of Control in eastern Ladakh, according to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
“India and China were in diplomatic and military talks to resolve their conflicts in some areas along the LAC. We have reached a consensus following our continuous efforts. We achieved this success due to your discipline and courage. We will continue this process of peace restoration based on the consensus,” he said at the time in Tezpur, where he celebrated Diwali with troops of HQs 4 Corps.
Only Depsang and Demchok are covered by the most recent disengagement deal; both nations will continue to negotiate at various levels on other regions where so-called buffer zones were previously established following troop withdrawal. The disengagement from Depsang and Demchok has not resulted in the creation of buffer zones, as had happened after the previous rounds of troop pullback.
Prior to this, China and India withdrew from the Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso, Gogra (PP-17A), and Hot Springs (PP-15), where buffer zones were established to temporarily limit both armies’ patrolling capabilities. The purpose of the zones of separation was to prevent violent confrontations. The results of more negotiations will determine whether or not the moratorium on patrolling certain regions by both sides is lifted.
Reducing border tensions begins with disengagement from regions of contention. To bring peace and tranquilly back to the area, the ongoing war must be de-escalated, and rival forces must eventually be de-inducted. In the Ladakh battlefield, both armies continue to maintain tens of thousands of soldiers and cutting-edge equipment.
