External Affairs Minister Jaishankar said disengagement of troops at Depsang and Demchok in Ladakh is the first step, and it is expected that India will return to the 2020 patrolling status.
| Photo Credit: PTI

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday (October 27, 2024) said the disengagement of troops at Depsang and Demchok in Ladakh is the first step, and it is expected that India will return to the 2020 patrolling status.

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, the EAM said, obviously referring to China.

Earlier this week, India announced it had reached an agreement with China on patrolling along the LAC in eastern Ladakh, a major breakthrough in ending the over four-year-long military standoff.

Addressing a press conference in Mumbai, Mr. Jaishankar said consensus has been achieved on patrolling and disengagement in Depsang and Demchok.

“It is obvious it will take time to implement the same. This is the issue of disengagement and patrolling which meant our armies had come very close to each other and now they have gone back to their bases. We hope the 2020 status is restored,” he said.

The completion of disengagement is the first step. 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, the External Affairs Minister said.

“After de-escalation, how to manage the borders will be discussed,” he added.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and India Prime Minister Narendra Modi meet on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, on Wednesday (October 23, 2024).
| Photo Credit: China Daily via Reuters

China has said that the disengagement of troops in eastern Ladakh by the Chinese and Indian armies is going on “smoothly” following a recent agreement between the two nations.

On October 23, 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping endorsed the agreement on patrolling and disengagement along the LAC in eastern Ladakh during their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia.

“In accordance with the resolutions that China and India reached recently on issues concerning the border area, the Chinese and Indian frontier troops are engaged in relevant work, which is going smoothly at the moment,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a media briefing in Beijing on Friday (October 25, 2024).

Also Read: BRICS Summit 2024 Highlights

India announced the agreement to pull back troops from the friction points on October 21 and China confirmed a day later saying the two sides have reached “resolutions on relevant matters” and Beijing will work with New Delhi to implement these resolutions.

“Following the agreement, the two countries have begun troop disengagement at the two friction points at Demchok and Depsang Plains in eastern Ladakh and this process is likely to be completed by October 28-29,” Indian Army sources said on Friday (October 25, 2024).

“The agreement was arrived at only for these two friction points, and “talks are still underway” for other areas,” they said.

The sources said that patrolling will begin at these points once the disengagement that began two days back is completed and both sides will move their respective troops and dismantle temporary structures.

Eventually, they added, the areas and patrolling status are expected to be moved back to the pre-April 2020 level.

​Over the borderline: On the India-China deal 

The ties between the two Asian giants nosedived following a fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said on Monday (October 21, 2024) in New Delhi that the agreement was finalised following negotiations over the past several weeks and that it would lead to a resolution of the issues that arose in 2020.