By 12 September, Indian and Chinese forces would have finished leaving patrolling post 15 (PP15) in the eastern Ladakh region’s Gogra-Hot Springs region. This was announced on Friday by the Ministry of External Affairs.
According to earlier statements made by the two sides, the withdrawal of Indian and Chinese troops from Patrol Point-15 (the Gogra-Hot Springs region of eastern Ladakh) is expected to be completed by Monday, authorities monitoring the stalemate said on Sunday, requesting anonymity. The procedure entails relocating troops back to their original locations in the rear and demolishing the temporary infrastructure they had built there.
According to one of the officials cited above, the eagerly anticipated disengagement, which was announced on September 8, is likely to result in the establishment of a buffer zone of 2 to 4 km, as was done following earlier rounds of troop pullback from friction points on the contested Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the Indian Army have been locked in a protracted standoff in eastern Ladakh for more than 28 months. India and China announced on Thursday that their frontline troops have begun disengagement from PP-15. The breakthrough came after the 16th round of military talks in July to defuse tensions in the sensitive area.
The last breakthrough occurred in August 2021 when the two armies withdrew their forward deployed forces from the Gogra sector. Disengagement of Indian and Chinese soldiers from friction spots on LAC in the Ladakh sector had been deadlocked for more than a year (PP-17A).
Following the 12th round of military negotiations held between corps commander-ranked officers on July 31, 2021, the two sides withdrew their men to their permanent bases on August 4-5 from the Gogra area, one of the LAC’s flashpoints. “The two sides have agreed to cease forward deployments in this area in a phased, coordinated and verified manner, resulting in the return of the troops of both sides to their respective areas,” said Bagchi.
“With the resolution of stand-off at PP-15, both sides mutually agreed to take the talks forward and resolve the remaining issues along LAC and restore peace and tranquility in India-China border areas,” he said.
