Indian and Chinese troops on Monday moved back their frontline troops to the rear locations from the face-off site of Patrolling Point 15 in the Gogra-Hotsprings area in eastern Ladakh and dismantled temporary infrastructure there as part of a five-day disengagement process.
People familiar with the development said the two sides disengaged as per the plan which also entailed a joint verification of the entire process.
Though the two sides disengaged from Patrolling Point 15 (PP-15), there has been no progress yet on resolving the standoff in Demchok and Depsang regions.
The Indian and Chinese armies on September 8 announced that they have kicked off the disengagement process from the PP-15, in a significant forward movement in the stalled process to pull-out troops from the remaining friction points in the region.
All the temporary infrastructure created at the face-off site have also been dismantled, according to sources.
It is not immediately known whether the two sides will create a “buffer zone” at PP-15 as was done after the troops disengaged in friction points on the north and south banks of the Pangong lake and at Patrolling Point 17(A) last year.
No side carries out patrolling in the buffer zone.
The disengagement in the Gogra-Hotsprings area is an outcome of the 16th round of high-level military talks in July, the two armies said while announcing the beginning of the process on 8 September.
External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on 9 September that the disengagement process in PP-15 will be completed by Monday.
He said 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 the status quo.
Initially, around 30 soldiers from each side were locked in a face-off in PP-15 but the number of troops kept changing depending on the overall situation in the region.
India has been consistently maintaining that peace and tranquillity along the LAC were key for the overall development of the bilateral ties. The eastern Ladakh border standoff erupted on 5 May 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong lake areas.
Both sides gradually enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers and heavy weaponry.
As a result of a series of military and diplomatic talks, the two sides completed the disengagement process last year on the north and south banks of the Pangong lake and in the Gogra area.
The disengagement in the Pangong Lake area took place in February last year while the withdrawal of troops and equipment in Patrolling Point 17 (A) in Gogra took place in August last year.
