A day after disengagement from the stand-off site at Gogra-Hot Springs(Patrolling Point-15) in Eastern Ladakh, India and China on Tuesday conducted physical verification of each other’s positions as the two sides returned to their bases as existed in 2020.
However, India is wary as stand-off continues at Depsang Valley and Demchok often termed as “legacy issues.”
Dispute at these two points has been lingering for the last few years. At present, more than 50,000 troops, each from India and China, are deployed at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh.
While the retreat or the disengaging process from the Patrolling Point-15 was over on Monday, the both sides were keen to verify the process physically and it was done on Tuesday, sources said here.
“Both sides have completed the disengagement at PP15 in a phased, coordinated and verified manner,” they added.
The withdrawal began on September 8, and it was agreed upon to complete the process by September 12.
The two armies also dismantled structures temporarily built, and other infrastructure that came up after the face-off started in 2020.
The two armies will now observe a buffer zone, stretching from two to five kilometers on either side of the LAC, as a confidence building measure to avoid any further confrontation. The troops from both the sides will not patrol in the buffer zone.
The fourth withdrawal was the last and the latest trail of disengagement from the friction points. The first withdrawal took place at the Pangong Tso(lake)in February 2021. The face-off at the lake started 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 alongwith the withdrawal of troops from the Galwan valley. A buffer zone stretching from three to ten kilometers is in place at all these places.
Announcing the schedule of disengagement, Ministry of External Affairs said on September 9 that “as per the agreement, the disengagement process in this area started on 8th September 2022 at 0830 hrs and will be completed by 12th September 2022. The two sides have agreed to cease deployments in this area in a phased, coordinated and verified manner, resulting in the return of the troops of both sides back to their respective areas.
It has been agreed that all temporary structures and other related infrastructure that emerged in the area by both sides will be dismantled and mutually verified. The landforms in the area will be restored by both sides to that of pre-stand-off time.
The agreement ensures that the Line of Actual Control(LAC) in this area will be strictly observed and respected by both sides, and that there will be no unilateral change in status quo.