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India-China disengagement process to be completed by October 29

India and China will undertake coordinated patrolling in Depsang and Demchok in Eastern Ladakh to avoid face-offs as patrols are set to resume by month-end. Army sources said the disengagement which commenced on Tuesday is expected to be completed by October 29 to the situation as existed pre-April 2020 and patrols would resume after that.

“A general framework agreement was concluded first at the diplomatic level and subsequently a detailed agreement outlining the modalities of disengagement as well the patrolling was concluded at the Corps Commander level on Monday,” Army sources said on Friday. The current agreement pertains to only Depsang and Demchok, the two remaining friction points, and will restore the ground status to pre-April 2020, sources stressed.

The agreement, in-principle, means that Indian Army will be able to resume patrols upto the Patrolling Points (PP) 10, 11, 11A, 12, and 13 in the Depsnag area which it last managed to access in January 2020. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army has been blocking Indian patrols from going beyond the Y-junction in the strategic Depsang plains.

However, the agreement also means that there is no resumption of patrols yet in the other friction points from where disengagement has already been undertaken. The buffer zones set up as part the agreement continue to remain in place. These areas include Galwan, North & South Banks of Pangong Tso, PP15 & PP17A in Gogra Hot Springs area.

Adequate measures have been taken to ensure that troops do not come face to face and avoid face offs. “Patrols will be spaced in such a manner that there would be no face offs. Patrols will be coordinated by both sides,” sources said, stating that there would be regular discussions at various levels on the ground in all sectors to build confidence and avoid any flare up of tensions.

Army sources, however, denied any ‘quid pro quo’ in Arunachal Pradesh in order to achieve disengagement in Depsang. However, there has been some understanding with respect to Yangtse which has been an area of friction and clashes having occurred on occasions.

Sources also acknowledged that the de-induction process is a long drawn process and will take time. “Discussions regarding resuming patrols at other friction areas are underway. There are talks going on in all sectors along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).”

One of the outcomes of the talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping was that the Special Representatives on the India-China boundary question “will meet at an early date to oversee the management of peace and tranquillity in border areas and to explore a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution to the boundary question.”

In 2002, India and China exchanged maps of the LAC in the middle and western sectors. While middle sector happened smoothly, in the Western sector the Chinese said India was expanding its claims in the Depsang bulge area and there has been no further movement.