The disengagement process (the process of withdrawal of the armies of both countries) is taking place between the Indian and Chinese armies at the Depsang and Demchok camp in the eastern sector of Ladakh. As of Monday, the armies of India and China had completed 80 to 90 per cent of the disengagement process in Depsang and Demchok. This process includes the elimination of all types of infrastructure and the withdrawal of troops on both sides. The withdrawal process is expected to be completed within the next 24 hours.
In both areas, India and China have reached an agreement to restore the situation by April 2020 and start patrolling. There has been no discussion yet on the four buffer zones, including the Galwan Valley. Once patrols by troops of both countries begin in the Demchok and Depsang areas and trust is established, talks will be held at the level of corps commanders to start patrolling in the remaining buffer zone. A date for talks at this level has not yet been set.
Also read: After the agreement between India and China, the military withdrawal begins in Ladakh, see images of the withdrawal.
India and China will conduct physical and aerial verification of the area once the disengagement process is completed. Currently the work is carried out on the basis of mutual trust. Local military commanders from both countries talk by phone every morning to decide what actions will be taken that day as part of the withdrawal process. During this period, meetings of the military commanders of both countries are also organized once or twice a day.
India had announced on October 21, 2024 that it had reached an agreement with China to end the more than four-year-old military standoff over patrolling along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. At an event in New Delhi on October 24, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said the two countries have reached a consensus to improve the “situation on the ground” based on the principles of equality and mutual security.
Read also: See in images how the withdrawal is taking place in Depsang and Demchok, both armies are removing temporary constructions.
The India-China standoff on the LAC in the eastern Ladakh sector began in April 2020, when the People’s Liberation Army attempted to unilaterally change the status quo. Due to this incident, there was a violent clash between soldiers of the two countries in Galwan Valley on the night of June 15-16, 2020, in which 20 Indian soldiers were martyred and almost double the Chinese army also suffered losses. . However, the EPL never made public the official number of its soldiers killed in this confrontation. After this incident, there was a lot of tension in relations between the two countries.
