The withdrawal of troops from the Depsang and Demchok areas of the eastern Ladakh sector of the India-China border has been largely completed. Currently, India and China are verifying each other’s troop withdrawal and the removal of infrastructure in these areas.
Defence sources have confirmed that the troop withdrawal process is complete. The agreed deadline for the military disengagement was set for today as per the consensus reached between the two countries.
It’s important to note that the Ministry of External Affairs last week confirmed the resolution of the military standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) near Ladakh, which began in 2020. The agreement on military patrolling reached following diplomatic and military level talks between the two countries led to the withdrawal of forward deployments.
In 2020, Indian and Chinese troops clashed, resulting in casualties on both sides. This incident strained relations between India and China. Subsequently, talks at the diplomatic and military level began to resolve the standoff.
The resolution of the military standoff was followed by a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit. As per the agreement, both sides will revert to the pre-April 2020 situation. However, both Delhi and Beijing will retain surveillance options in Depsang and Demchok and will inform each other before patrolling to avoid any miscommunication.