Around 40% of temporary structures have already been removed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) at both Depsang and Demchok villages in Ladhak as both Indian and Chinese troops started the disengagement process.
While the uninstallation of blockades and other temporary infrastructure is expected to be 60% complete in a day, senior officials say that the entire process will be completed in small batches over time. Removal of tents and temporary barriers, however, does not indicate complete withdrawal of troops.
Local commanders of both the forces have been holding meetings and both sides are going to conduct joint verification after all removals are complete. It will be both land-based and aerial verification.
The disengagement process, that comes after nearly a four year long stand off between India and China, follows the recent agreement between the two countries aimed at resolving border disputes.
Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh recently noted that both India and China have reached a broad consensus through sustained diplomatic and military-level discussions. Following these discussions, it was decided by both sides to restore the ground situation based on the principles of equal and mutual security, the defence minister said.
The consensus also includes resumption of patrolling and grazing rights in these areas.
This crucial development came just days after, in an unanticipated yet significant development, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Chinese counterpart President Xi Jinping held a bilateral meeting on the side lines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia.
This was the first formal meeting between the two leaders in the last five years.
During their meeting, Chinese President told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that both sides must strengthen cooperation and communication and properly handle differences. This was confirmed by China’s state broadcaster CCTV that quoted Xi Jinping saying that the two sides “should strengthen communication and cooperation, properly handle divergences and differences, and realize each other’s development dreams”.
The Chinese president’s remarks from the BRICS followed a statement from Indian external affairs minister S Jaishankar who said that the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) has returned to what it was before May 2020.
