According to the External Affairs Ministry, by September 12, India and China will have finished their disengagement from the Gogra-Hotsprings region in eastern Ladakh. The development promotes peace in the areas close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
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The ministry's announcement came a day after the Indian and Chinese militaries stated that they have begun to disengage from the Gogra-Hotsprings Patrolling Point 15, where the two sides have been stuck in a standoff for over two years.
"It has been agreed that all temporary structures and other allied infrastructure created in the area by both sides will be dismantled and mutually verified. The landforms in the area will be restored to the pre-standoff period by both sides," External Affairs Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said.
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The breakthrough came after the 16th round of military talks to defuse tensions in the sensitive area. On September 8, India and China announced that their frontline troops had begun disengaging from Patrol Point-15 (Gogra-Hot Springs area) in eastern Ladakh, where the Indian Army and the People's Liberation Army (PLA) have been locked in a protracted standoff for over 28 months.
After the 12th round of military negotiations between corps commander-ranked officers on July 31, 2021, the two sides withdrew their troops to their permanent bases from the Gogra sector, one of the LAC's flashpoints. This took place on August 4-5, 2021.
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The final progress was made in August 2021 when the two armies withdrew their forward posted forces from the Gogra sector, which had been a sticking point for over a year for the disengagement of Indian and Chinese soldiers from friction spots on the LAC in the Ladakh sector (PP-17A). According to the officials, resolving unresolved issues at the border up until this point seemed difficult.
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Since May 2020, the armed forces of China and India have been engaged in a tense standoff. The issues at Depsang Bulge in the Daulat Beg Oldi sector and Charding Nullah Junction (CNJ) in the Demchok sector are still being discussed after 16 rounds of military negotiations.
(With agency inputs)
