China Says Disengagement With Indian Army Has Started on Northern and Southern Shores of Pangong Lake

Following a breakthrough in the ninth round of military commander-level talks, Indian and Chinese troops along the border in Ladakh have initiated the process of disengagement, Chinese media said on on Wednesday.

Quoting defence ministry spokesperson Colonel Wu Qian, the Chinese media reported that troops of both countries stationed at the northern and southern shores of Pangong Lake in Ladakh began disengagement according to the consensus reached during the talks.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will make a statement in Rajya Sabha on Thursday morning on the “present situation in eastern Ladakh”.

Sources confirmed to CNN-News18 that disengagement has started in the two banks. The process will take place in phases and will be verified at every step, they said, adding troops will be disengaged first in the lake’s north bank and then the south bank. Tanks are being moved out of the south bank, and the strength of Indian troops deployed there will also be reduced, they said.

“First the armoured component will be moved out, then the troops at the rear will be thinned out. We continue to hold strategic heights. Frontline troops will not be disengaged at the moment. We are looking at early days and a long road ahead,” sources said.

The central government, referring to the friction along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha, “Government will continue discussions with the Chinese side to achieve the objective of disengagement from all friction points and restoration of peace and tranquility in the India-China Border Areas at an early date.”

Nearly 50,000 Indian Army troops are currently deployed in a high state of combat readiness in eastern Ladakh. Multiple rounds of talks between the two sides had so far not yielded any concrete outcome to resolve the standoff. China has also deployed an equal number of troops, according to officials. The standoff between the two sides erupted in early May.

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