Military-level parleys on to disengage from two other friction points
In a step forward to ease tension, India and China have disengaged their troops from Gogra in Ladakh where they were in a face-off since May last year. The military commanders of the two countries will hold talks in the coming days to finalise pullback of their respective armies from two other friction points.
The much-awaited breakthrough came in the Corps Commander-level talks between the two sides on July 31 at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Moldo border meeting point.
“Both sides have ceased forward deployments in this area in a phased, coordinated and verified manner. The disengagement process was carried out over Wednesday and Thursday (August 4 and 5). The troops of both sides are now in their respective permanent bases,” an Army statement issued here on Friday said.
All temporary structures and other allied infrastructure created in the area by both sides were dismantled and mutually verified. The landform in the area was restored by both sides to pre-stand-off period.
There were about 30-40 soldiers engaged in a stand-off at Patrolling Point 17A Gogra since the first face-off began at the Pangong Tso (lake) in early May last year.
The soldiers from both the sides at Gogra had started withdrawing last year but China’s massive build up in terms of troops of armour halted the process.
The statement said the agreement in the 12th round ensures that the LAC in this area will be strictly observed and respected by both sides, and that there is no unilateral change in status quo.
“With this one more sensitive area of face-off has been resolved. Both sides have expressed commitment to take the talks forward and resolve the remaining issues along the LAC in the Western Sector,” it said.
The area will now be a buffer zone and both the armies will suspend patrolling there till there is final resolution to the issue, sources said.
The first pullback by both the armies took place in February from the southern and northern banks of the Pangong Tso. However, since then there was no progress on the other friction points, including the Hot Springs, Gogra and the Depsang Valley.
The two nations held several rounds of military and diplomatic-level parleys to disengage from the friction points, and they finally achieved success on July 31.
The two commanders Lt General PGK Menon and Major General Liu Lin are expected to meet in the next few days again to review the Gogra disengagement and ways to hasten up pullback from the remaining flash points, sources said. In the interim, Major General level officers of the two armies are also likely to hold talks regarding specific sector of Patrolling Point 15 in Hot Springs in the coming days, they added.
The army statement also said during the latest round of military level talks “the two sides had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on resolution of remaining areas related to disengagement along the LAC in the Western Sector of India-China border areas. As an outcome of the meeting, both sides agreed on disengagement in the area of Gogra. The troops in this area have been in a face-off situation since May last year.”
The Indian Army along with the ITBP is totally committed to ensure the sovereignty of the nation and maintain peace and tranquility along the LAC in the Western Sector (Ladakh), the statement added.
A joint statement issued by India and China on Monday after the 12th round of talks said the Corps Commander Level Meeting was held following the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of India and China on July 14 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan and the 22nd meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs on June 25.
India has all along insisted that China has to disengage from all the friction points in Eastern Ladakh as a prerequisite for normalizing ties.
India has also made it clear that status quo ante has to be restored at the LAC in Eastern Ladakh. It means China has to pull back its troops to its positions as they were in April last year.
At present, more than one lakh troops from both the sides are deployed at various sensitive points at the LAC in Ladakh leading to tension. The build-up started after the Galwan brawl on June 15 last year in which 20 Indian army personnel, including the commanding officer, were killed. More than 30 Chinese soldiers were also killed in the fight but Beijing is yet to confirm the casualties.