Troop disengagement at two friction points— Demchok and Depsang Plains—in eastern Ladakh has been completed, Indian Army sources said on Wednesday. They said patrolling will commence soon at these points.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri had said last week that the agreement was finalised following negotiations and that it would lead to a resolution of the issues that arose in 2020. On October 23, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping endorsed the agreement on patrolling and disengagement along the LAC.
According to Army sources, verification post-disengagement is in progress and patrolling modalities are to be decided between ground commanders.
ALSO READ: EAM Jaishankar praises Army for working in 'unimaginable' conditions for LAC breakthrough
Patrolling is expected to begin soon at Demchok and Depsang Plains. Eventually, the areas and patrolling status are expected to be moved back to pre-April 2020 level.
Meanwhile, there will be an exchange of sweets between both sides on the occasion of Diwali on Thursday.
Earlier, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian had said Chinese and Indian frontier troops are implementing the resolutions concerning the disengagement in an orderly way.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, on Sunday, said the disengagement of troops at Depsang and Demchok in Ladakh is the first step and that the next step is de-escalation, which will not happen until India is sure that the same is happening on the other side as well. "After de-escalation, how to manage the borders will be discussed," he added.
