A day after India and China agreed to complete the disengagement process from the stand-off site in Gogra-Hot Springs by Monday, Army chief General Manoj Pande is now visiting Ladakh to take stock of the situation and operational readiness to meet any challenge.
He is on a two-day tour of the region and is likely to visit some forward posts at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) there.
He will be briefed by the operational commanders about the status of the ongoing withdrawal of troops by both the countries from Patrolling Point-15 at Gogra-Hot Springs. The face-off there persisted for more two years.
Besides reviewing the security scenario in the backdrop of the disengagement, Pande will also witness Exercise ‘Parvat Prahar.’
General Manoj Pande has proceeded on a two-day visit ti Ladakh sector wherein he will witness Exercise Pravat Prahar, the army tweeted. His visit comes after India and China on Thursday announced mutual disengagement from Patrolling Point-15. A day later they agreed to complete the pull back process by Monday. The two armies will also dismantle temporary structures raised there during the stand-off lasting more than two years.
Announcing the schedule of disengagement, ministry of external affairs said spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had said on Friday, the two sides have agreed to cease forward deployments in this area in a phased, coordinated and verified manner, resulting in the return of the troops of both sides to their respective areas.
It has been agreed that all temporary structures and other allied infrastructure created in the area by both sides will be dismantled and mutually verified. The landforms in the area will be restored to pre-stand-off period by both sides. The agreement ensures that the LAC in this area will be strictly observed and respected by both sides, and that there will be no unilateral change in status quo. With the resolution of stand-off at PP-15, both sides mutually agreed to take the talks forward and resolve the remaining issues along LAC and restore peace and tranquility in India-China border areas.”
The pull back from the Gogra Hot Springs(Patrolling Point-15)came days ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation(SCO)summit in Uzbekistan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are likely to take part in the annual event.
It is not clear whether the two leaders will hold bilateral talks on the sideline of the SCO summit on September 15-16. They will also take part in another high level meet , G-20 summit in November in Indonesia.
India has all along maintained that status quo is the prerequisite for restoring normalcy at the LAC in Eastern Ladakh. It means the Chinese troops have to return to their bases as existing prior to May 2020. Stand-offs had stared then leading to a bloody brawl in the Galwan valley in June that year. Soon, the entire LAC in Ladakh saw massive build up of forces by both the sides at various friction points leading to tension in the border region. The latest disengagement or withdrawal of troops from both the sides from the friction points is the fourth one. The first withdrawal took place at the Pangong Tso(lake)in February 2021. Incidentally, the face-off at the lake was the first one in 2020 triggering tension all along the LAC in Ladakh.
The second disengagement became effective at Patrolling Point-17 in the Gogra-Hot Springs area in August last year besides withdrawal of troops from the Galwan valley.
The two sides had agreed to maintain a no-patrolling zone in these areas as a confidence building measure. Now, the armies of the two countries maintain a buffer zone of three to ten kms on either side of the LAC in these sectors to avoid any confrontation. However, stand-offs still persist at the Depsang valley and Demchok.
At present, more than 50,000 troops each from both the sides are deployed at the LAC in Ladakh for the last two years with heavy weapons.