India-China disengagement begins at Depsang and Demchok

The Indian Army and the Chinese Army will complete disengagement by October 28-29 and the patrolling will begin on October 30-31.

The disengagement will be applicable only for Depsang and Demchok and not for other friction points. Both the sides will fall back to positions they held before April 2020 and will patrol areas where they did till that date. Official sources told HT that the regular ground commanders meetings will continue to be held.

According to official sources, a particular strength of troops in patrols has been identified and both sides have informed each other when the patrol is going to take place to avoid any miscommunication. All temporary infrastructure like sheds or tents and troops will be removed.

Both the Indian and Chinese PLA will have surveillance over the area. The patrolling points in Depsang and Demchok will be the ones where Indian forces had been patrolling pre-April 2020.

What PM Modi said during bilateral meet with Xi Jinping?

During his bilateral meet with Chinese president Xi Jinping in Russia's Kazan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called for maintaining peace and stability on the border.

"This is our first formal meeting after five years. Excellency, we welcome the agreements that we have reached over the border. Maintaining peace and tranquillity over the border should remain our priority and mutual trust, mutual respect and mutual sensitivity should remain the basis of our relationship. I am confident that we will hold talks with an open heart and our discussions would be constructive," the prime minister had said in the first formal meeting with Jinping after five years.

The resumption of patrolling by both the Indian Army and Chinese PLA will resume after heavy negotiations between the interlocutors in the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) on the diplomatic table and senior military commanders.

The WMCC met 17 times after the June 15, 2020, bloody clash at Galwan and the military commanders met 21 times to negotiate the disengagement and resumption of patrolling.