In a major breakthrough in easing tension at the border in Ladakh, the armies of India and China on Thursday started disengaging from the stand-off at Gogra-Hotsprings Patrolling Point (PP)-15.
The two sides were in an eyeball to eyeball stance for the last two years since trouble erupted at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in May 2020. However, stand-offs still persist at Demchok and Depsang.
The latest announcement came days ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) annual summit in Uzbekistan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are likely to attend the event. There is no word on the possibility of a bilateral meeting between the two leaders on the sidelines of the summit scheduled for September 15-16.
The latest disengagement or withdrawal of troops from both 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