India-China border disengagement at Depsang, Demchok nearly over: Sources

The disengagement process between Indian and Chinese troops in the Depaang and Demchok areas of eastern Ladakh is nearly over, defence sources told India Today TV.
Both Indian Army and the China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) are currently verifying the withdrawal of personnel and dismantling of military infrastructure in the sensitive sectors along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The verification process will be conducted jointly by both armies, involving confirming that positions have been vacated and installations removed as per the agreed terms. “Currently, work is being done on the basis of trust,” sources said.
Notably, there has yet to be any discussion regarding the four buffer zones, including the Galwan area. Sources said that discussions at the Corps Commander level will decide on the possibility of resuming patrols in buffer zones, which will take place after the successful commencement of patrols in the Demchok and Depsang areas.
Local military commanders from both nations are engaged in daily discussions over a hotline each morning to coordinate planned actions for the day. Additionally, they conduct in-person meetings at the designated point once or twice daily to review and align protocols.
The development comes days after External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on October 27 said that India and China would soon resume patrolling along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, restoring the arrangement as it was in April 2020, before the border standoff began.
Last week, India announced that 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 in the region. Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, Jaishankar had said that 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.
However, the Foreign Minister later said that the breakthrough agreement with China on patrolling along the LAC does not mean that issues between the two countries have been resolved.
“The latest step (of disengagement) was the October 21 understanding that patrolling will take place in Depsang and Demchok. This will allow us now to look at the next step. It is not like everything has been resolved but the disengagement which is the first phase we have managed to reach that level,” Jaishankar had said at an event in Pune.