Chinese army will retreat, border dispute between India and China ends; Dragon gives green signal to ‘patrolling agreement’
India and China have started withdrawing troops from two points of conflict in Demchok and Depsang Plains in eastern Ladakh and the process is likely to be completed by October 28-29. Official sources gave this information on Friday. A few days ago, an agreement was reached between the two countries regarding the withdrawal of troops and patrolling near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, which is a major breakthrough towards ending the deadlock that has been going on for more than four years.
Sources said that after the completion of the process of withdrawal of troops, patrolling will start at both the points of conflict and both sides will remove their troops and destroy the temporary structures. He said that eventually the level of patrolling can reach the level before April 2020. Military sources said that the agreement framework was first agreed at the diplomatic level and then military level talks were held. He said that important aspects of the agreement were worked out in the Corps Commander level talks. Following the agreements between the two sides, Indian troops have started bringing back equipment from these areas.
Relations came under strain after a fierce clash between the soldiers of the two countries in the Galwan Valley in June 2020. It was the most serious military conflict between the two sides in the last few decades. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri told reporters in Delhi on October 21 that the agreement was finalized after talks held in the last few weeks and it will resolve the issues that arose in 2020.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping supported the agreement on withdrawal of troops and patrolling near the LAC in eastern Ladakh in their bilateral talks on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia on October 23. Referring to India’s consistent stand on the dispute in East Ladakh, Misri told media persons in Kazan after the bilateral meeting that restoration of peace in the border areas would pave the way for normalization of bilateral relations. He said, “As you all know, this meeting has taken place soon after the resolution of issues arising in the India-China border areas in 2020 and the military withdrawal and patrolling agreement.
