New Delhi:

Indian and Chinese troops will complete disengagement – in the Depsang and Demchok areas of Ladakh – and fall back to pre-April 2020 positions by Tuesday, Army sources said this afternoon.

Troops from both sides will fall back to pre-April 2020 positions and all temporary infrastructure – sheds or tents – will be removed, while ground commanders will continue to hold regular meetings.

Sources said each side will also continue to have surveillance options in the Depsang and Demchok areas, and will inform the other prior to stepping out on patrol “to avoid any miscommunication”.

India and China reached a patrolling agreement last week – for these regions only – that will, hopefully, put an end to over four years of military and diplomatic tension arising from the Line of Actual Control.

That tension was fuelled by a series of military skirmishes in the Pangong Lake area in May 2020 and included the clash in Ladakh’s Galwan in June, in which 20 Indian soldiers died for their country.

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In the weeks and months following the Galwan violence both countries ramped up military presence along the LAC, the de facto international border; in August last year it was reported that Delhi had airlifted nearly 70,000 soldiers, over 90 tanks, and hundreds of infantry combat vehicles, as well as deploying Sukhoi and Jaguar fighter jets in eastern Ladakh, for rapid deployment in the region.

Beijing had similarly deployed soldiers “in considerable numbers all across Eastern Ladakh and the Northern Front, right up to (India’s) Eastern Command”, the Army had said earlier.

On the disengagement and de-escalation process, Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi said this week that the Indian military is “trying to restore trust” in its Chinese counterpart.

READ | “Trying To Restore Trust”: Army Chief On India-China Patrolling Deal

“This (rebuilding of trust) will happen once we are able to see each other, and convince and reassure each other, that we are not creeping into buffer zones that have been created,” the General said.

The patrolling agreement was announced – hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Russia for the BRICS summit where he would hold a bilateral with China’s Xi Jinping.

READ | PM Modi, Xi Welcome “Complete Disengagement” Along LAC

Speaking after it was confirmed, Mr Modi told the Chinese leader, “It should be our priority to ensure there is peace and stability along our border”, and stressed the need for “mutual trust, mutual respect”.

Earlier External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told NDTV the agreement was the result of “patient and persevering diplomacy”. Speaking at NDTV’s World Summit, he said, “I think it creates a basis for peace and tranquillity along the border, which was there before 2020…”

De-escalation is still a concern in other areas, including the Gogra-Hot Springs area in Ladakh, after Indian and Chinese forces backed down in September last year. However, intel indicates China continues to hold large swathes of Indian territory to the north, in the Depsang plains area.

Depsang is seen as critical for India since it provides access to the airstrip at Daulat Beg Oldie and prevents Chinese troops from threatening vital logistics centres in the area. Demchok, meanwhile is divided in two by the LAC; India controls the western part, which is claimed by China.

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New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China’s Xi Jinping have welcomed the patrolling agreement announced this week that calls for “complete (military) disengagement” along the Line of Actual Control in the Himalayas, as well as “resolution of issues that arose in 2020 in the India-China border areas”.

The phrase “complete disengagement” indicates the two militaries will withdraw to pre-May 2020 positions, i.e., before skirmishes, including violent clashes in Ladakh’s Galwan, in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed, triggered by the May 5 face-off in the Pangong Lake region.

The withdrawal to pre-May 2020 positions was also flagged by Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, who told the NDTV the patrolling agreement “creates a basis for peace and tranquillity along the border, which (was) there before 2020”. He said the agreement was due to “patient and persevering diplomacy”.

READ | “Back To 2020…”: S Jaishankar To NDTV On India, China Pact

Meanwhile, in another significant step forward, Special Representatives of both sides – India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi – could meet soon “to explore a fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable solution to the boundary question”.

Mr Doval and Mr Yi have not met – as Special Representatives – since 2019.

These points were announced in a statement after PM Modi and President Jinping held a first bilateral meet since the May 2020 clashes; they met on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Russia’s Kazan.

In the meeting the Prime Minister emphasised to his Chinese counterpart “the importance of properly handling differences and disputes” and not allowing these to disturb relations.

READ | “Peace On Border Should Be Priority,” PM Tells Xi Jinping In Russia

The two leaders also recognised that “stable, predictable, and amicable bilateral relations… between the two largest nations on Earth… will have a positive impact on regional and global peace and prosperity” and also contribute to a multi-polar Asian and global community.

India and China, therefore, underlined the need to progress bilateral relations, enhance strategic communication, and explore cooperation to address developmental challenges.

In statements before the bilateral, Mr Modi told the Chinese leader, “It should be our priority to ensure there is peace and stability along our border”, and stressed the need for “mutual trust, mutual respect”.

Mr Jinping pointed to India and China’s ancient historical connections and present-day statuses as major developing countries and members of the Global South, and said, “It best serves the fundamental interest of our countries and peoples to keep to the trend of history…”

Today’s meet between PM Modi and President Jinping took place less than 72 hours after the patrolling agreement – which followed sustained dialogue at military and diplomatic levels -was announced.

READ | India To Resume Patrolling In Ladakh After Big Breakthrough With China

The agreement was seen as a big step to de-escalation in a region in which both sides have amassed tens of thousands of troops and armaments over the past four years.

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