According to sources, the disengagement process has started at two locations of friction along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), days after India and China agreed to terminate the standoff between their soldiers in eastern Ladakh. By the end of this month, patrols will start, and disengagement will be finished by October 29.
Half of the temporary buildings in Depsang and five tents on each side in the Demchok area have been taken down. Both sides’ troops will return to their pre-April 2020 locations and continue to patrol the same areas until April 2020. According to accounts, Chinese soldiers are retreating to the east bank of the Charding Nala, while Indian soldiers are returning to the west side.
The Indian army evacuated some troops from the area, and the Chinese army decreased the number of their vehicles there. According to sources, patrolling in Depsang and Demchok is anticipated to continue in the following four to five days following the completion of this procedure.
Communication is being used to coordinate the disengagement efforts. According to insiders, local military leaders from both countries meet at predetermined locations once or twice a day and conduct a hotline call every morning to review the day’s scheduled activities.
“The removal of tents and temporary infrastructure is progressing smoothly, and there is cautious optimism that this momentum will help build confidence for future talks. However, the focus remains on maintaining trust and ensuring that any further steps are mutually agreeable,” a military source, familiar with the disengagement process, said.
Galwan is one of the four buffer zones that have not yet been discussed.
In a significant move to end the more than four-year military standoff that started after forces participated in a bloody clash in the Galwan Valley in May 2020, India announced on October 21 that it and China had achieved an agreement on patrolling along the LAC.
The following day, Beijing confirmed the agreement as well, stating that a settlement on “relevant matters” had been achieved and that it will cooperate with New Delhi to put these agreements into effect. Lin Jian, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, stated that his nation will cooperate with India to carry out these decisions in the future.
The deal was endorsed by Chinese President Xi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who met on the sidelines of the Brics conference in Kazan, as border disengagement is anticipated to repair strained ties between the two Asian powers. Following this conference, both parties were instructed to resurrect a number of bilateral dialogue mechanisms, indicating efforts to normalise relations.
