The Chinese Army is believed to have pulled back its personnel from the Galwan river and Gogra-Hot Springs areas in eastern Ladakh by about 2km on Monday. While Chinese troops have moved back, artillery and armoured equipment remains in depth areas.
The Indian Army, however, is yet to confirm the pullback by conducting a physical verification.
The increased water flow of the Galwan river, which reportedly damaged newly built Chinese infrastructure, apparently played a major role in forcing Beijing to move back.
An Army spokesperson informed, "Disengagement with PLA has started as per agreed terms in the corps commander's meeting. PLA seen removing tents and structures at Patrolling Point 14. Rearward movement of vehicles of PLA seen at General area [of] Galwan, Hotsprings and Gogra."
The move comes after multiple rounds of talks by army commanders following the surge in tension after the clash at Galwan on June 15 that left 20 Indian soldiers dead.
As THE WEEK reported on Sunday, the Indian and Chinese armies kick-started the disengagement process five days after a meeting by lieutenant-general rank officers of both sides.
Then, China had agreed to pull back its forces from Galwan and Gogra-Hot Springs areas as part of step-by-step disengagement process. But the Indian side added the clause of physical verification because of the trust deficit with the Chinese military.
"Indian Army will do the physical verification on whether the Chinese have actually removed their vehicles and structures from these two points or not," said a source in the military establishment.
(With inputs from Pradip R. Sagar in Leh)
