Disengagement starts at two points along LAC in Ladakh, likely to be completed month-end

The sources, however, pointed out that there could be no strict timeline there given the altitude and the weather conditions in these areas.

Currently, the two sides are removing temporary structures built over the past four-and-a-half years, sources said. Among the temporary structures being dismantled are prefabricated sheds and tents being used to house equipment, vehicles and troops.

The current agreement, sources underlined, is only on restoring patrolling rights in the Depsang Plains and Demchok areas and disengagement is taking place at only these two friction points — the problems there are called legacy issues and predate the 2020 Chinese incursions.

The map shows Demchok and Depsang Plains in Eastern Ladakh, which had been the point of friction between two sides.

The Chinese PLA had cut off Indian access to patrolling points (PPs) 10 to 13 in the Depsang Plains. In the Demchok area, Chinese troops had been squatting at the Charding Nullah.

This agreement is important because the Chinese side, until a year ago, showed reluctance to even discuss Depsang Plains and Demchok while it agreed on disengagement at other friction points — PP 14 (Galwan valley), PP 15 (Hot Springs), PP 17A (Gogra), north and south banks of Pangong Tso.

“The current agreement is only for Depsang and Demchok… Troops from both sides will retreat to positions held before April 2020,” an Army source said.

“Troops from both sides will fall back to pre-April 2020 positions, and then patrolling will commence in the two areas,” the source said. “Patrolling on either side will also resume as was being done before April 2020.”

“Regular ground commander-level meetings will continue to ensure that the agreement is fulfilled or implemented in the right manner,” the source said, adding that confidence-building measures are being undertaken by both sides.

“Both sides will keep each other apprised when their patrols are launched so that there is no communication gap. It will reduce chances of any faceoff between them,” the source said.

A security establishment officer said, “Once the pullback process is complete, each side will verify the other’s position to see if it is according to the agreement. Following that, the agreed terms of patrolling will be put to the ground.”

Sources said that the number of troops involved in the disengagement process cannot be specified. Nor can they reveal the percentage of troops that have been moved as it is a “dynamic process”. Sources said that the two friction points left are being addressed to restore the situation to pre-April 2020 conditions, which is seen as a “mutually beneficial situation”.

The agreement framework was first agreed upon at the diplomatic level and then military-level talks took place, the Army sources said, adding the nitty-gritty of agreement was worked out in Corps Commander-level talks.

Referring to Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri’s statement Monday about diplomatic and military level negotiations between India and China at various forums over the last several weeks, Northern Army Commander Lt General M V Suchindra Kumar told journalists in Udhampur, “And, as a result of these discussions, agreement has been arrived at on patrolling arrangement along the Line of Actual Control on the India-China border areas, leading to disengagement and a resolution of the issues that had arisen in these areas in 2020.”

The announcement set the stage for a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the two-day BRICS Summit in Kazan, capital of Tatarstan in Russia’s southwest.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the agreement created a basis for peace and tranquillity which was there in the border areas before 2020, and they would be able to come back to that.

A day later, as Modi and Xi headed to Kazan, China confirmed that the two sides had “reached a solution on the relevant matters” and that it would “work with India to effectively implement the solution plan”. On Wednesday, leaders of the two countries held their first bilateral meeting in five years and underlined that “maintaining peace on the border should be our priority”.

Earlier, a day before the bilateral meeting in Kazan, Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi said the first priority for the two armies would be to “restore trust” in each other by “not creeping” into the buffer zones, “go back to the status quo of April 2020” and then look at “disengagement, de-escalation, normal management” of the LAC. “Patrolling gives you that kind of advantage… As we restore the trust, the other phases will also follow through,” he said.