India and China wrapping up disengagement at hot spots

The disengagement of Indian and Chinese armies from Depsang and Demchok in eastern Ladakh is almost over, with both sides simultaneously carrying out joint verification of the troop and equipment pullback to a specified and mutually agreed distance from the face-off sites, people aware of the development said on Tuesday.

As part of the disengagement process, the Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have pulled back their forward-deployed troops and equipment from the two flashpoints along the contested Line of Actual Control (LAC), and dismantled temporary structures that had come up there after the military standoff began in May 2020, the people added, asking not to be named.

“The disengagement is mostly over, and its final verification is being done in line with the agreement reached by India and China on October 21 to reduce border tensions,” said one of the people.

The development will allow the Indian Army and PLA get past a two-year impasse in negotiations to narrow down differences and find a resolution of outstanding issues along LAC — the fourth and last round of disengagement from Patrolling Point-15 in the Gogra-Hot Springs area took place in September 2022 after which the talks were deadlocked.

The disengagement at Depsang and Demchok will facilitate patrolling by both sides in a coordinated manner, and in the agreed upon frequency and strength (of the patrolling parties), said Lieutenant General Vinod Bhatia (retd), a former director general of military operations.

“This will ensure there are no face-offs and mitigate any chances of a spiral. Since the impasse in the talks has been broken, we can now expect the two sides to chart a path to restore peace and tranquillity along LCA,” Bhatia added.

The disengagement, which began on October 23, has progressed smoothly and the two armies will begin patrolling the contested areas by October 31, as previously reported by Hindustan Times.

This will restore the ground situation in the two forward areas to what it was pre-April 2020. The Indian Army will resume its patrolling activity in areas that had been cut off because of PLA’s forward presence.

The disengagement began after India and China announced a breakthrough in negotiations on October 21 to resolve the stand-off in Depsang and Demchok, the last two flashpoints in Ladakh where rival soldiers have been eyeball-to-eyeball for almost four-and-a-half years.

The disengagement agreement covers only Depsang and Demchok, and both countries will continue their talks at different levels on other areas where so-called buffer zones were previously created after troop pullback.

The disengagement of rival troops from Depsang and Demchok will not involve the creation of buffer zones, as had happened after the previous rounds of troop pullback.

India and China earlier disengaged from Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso, Gogra (PP-17A) and Hot Springs (PP-15), areas where buffer zones were created to temporarily restrict the patrolling activities of both armies in the region. The zones of separation were aimed at eliminating the possibility of violent face-offs. The lifting of the moratorium on patrolling these areas by both sides will depend on the outcome of further talks.

To be sure, disengagement from friction areas is the first step towards cooling border tensions. De-escalation of the lingering conflict and the eventual de-induction of rival soldiers must follow to restore peace and tranquillity in the sector. Both armies still have tens of thousands of troops each and advanced weaponry deployed in the Ladakh theatre.