India and China have reached an agreement to withdraw their troops from the north and south shores of the Bangong Lake in eastern Ladakh in a phased, coordinated and checked manner, and the military deployment of both sides will return to the status quo at the beginning of the standoff last year, Indian Defense Minister Singh confirmed to Parliament on Thursday. He said that both sides have taken the same withdrawal action on the south shore of Bangong Lake and dismantled all the buildings built on the south and north shores of Bangong Lake since April last year to restore the landscape.
According to the Taiwan Central News Agency, the above withdrawal conditions were based on the plans of the 8th round of senior military commanders’ meeting between India and China in November last year, but the two sides had been at an impasse due to their respective positions; it was only after the 9th round that a consensus was finally reached.
In addition, Singh also said that both India and China agreed to suspend military activities on the north shore of Bangong Lake, including patrols in traditional areas; the said operation was launched on Wednesday this week and another senior commanders’ meeting will be held in 48 hours to resolve all follow-up issues.
Singh stressed that India has not committed to anything in the dialogue between the two sides. There are still some outstanding issues regarding military deployment and patrolling in other areas along the Line of Actual Control between India and China in eastern Ladakh, which will be the focus of further discussions with the Chinese side.
Indian and Chinese border forces clashed on June 15 last year in the Gavan Valley area of Ladakh in the first deadly clash in 45 years, resulting in the death of 20 Indian soldiers. While China has so far not announced the death and injury figures, Russian state news agency TASS revealed Wednesday that a total of 45 Chinese servicemen died in the incident.
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