India and China have militarily disengaged from the 15 month-long faceoffs in the Gogra region, one of the several frictions" points in eastern Ladakh, with the rival troops dismantling their temporary structures erected in the area before withdrawing to their permanent posts a few kilometres away.
The mutually synchronized and physically verified troop pull-back took place at patrolling point-17A (PP-17A), which is near India's crucial Gogra post, on Wednesday and Thursday.
This, in effect, has led to an around 5-km no-patrolling buffer zone between the two armies in PP-17A area. Both sides, however, continue to deploy over 50.000 soldiers each, backed by tanks, artillery and surface-to-air missiles, all along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
An Indian Army statement on Friday said both sides have "ceased forward deployments" in the PP-17A area in a "phased, coordinated and verified manner" as per the agreement reached during the 12th round of corps commander-level talks on July 31.
"All temporary structures and other allied infrastructure created in the area by both sides have been dismantled and mutually verified. The landform in the area has been restored by both sides to the pre-stand off period (April 2020)," it said.
The agreement ensures the LAC in the area will be strictly observed and respected by both sides, and that there is no unilateral change in the status quo, added the Army.
Earlier this week reported that a no-patrolling buffer zone was going to be established at PP-17A the third such one since the People's Liberation Army (PLA) intruded across the LAC at multiple points in eastern Ladakh in early May last year.
The first one was at PP-14 in the Galwan Valley after the violent clashes there on June 15 last year, which was followed by the disengagement in the Pangong Tso-Kailash Range region in February this year, amidst some concerns that the buffer zones are largely coming up in what India claims to be its territory.
But the faceoff at another friction point in the Gogra-Hot Springs Kongka La sector, PP-15, still continues though it is also seen as "a low hanging fruit like PP-17A as there are just 40-50 rival soldiers each in close proximity there.
China, however, continues to rebuff India's attempts to take forward the discussions on the strategically-located Depsang Bulge area, which is towards Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) and Karakoram Pass in the north, as well as the tents pitched inside Indian territory in Demchok to the south.
The PLA has been consistently blocking Indian patrols in the
Bottleneck area of Depsang, which is 18-km inside what India perceives to be its territory, from going to their traditional PPs-10, 11, 11A 12 and 13 in the region since early last year.
The Indian statement on Friday, however, said both sides "have expressed commitment to take the talks forward and resolve the remaining issues" along the LAC in eastern Ladakh.
The disengagement at PP-15 as well as the "restoration of unhindered patrolling rights" in Depsang would next be on the agenda, with the eventual aim being the restoration of the status quo as it existed in April 2020 all along the frontier in eastern Ladakh.
Thousands of PLA troops had intruded into Indian territory in the Gogra-Hot Springs-Kongka La sector in May last year, as also in other places like Pangong Tso, but a partial disengagement had taken place there last year. The disengagement at PP-17A has now been completed, PP-15 should follow next. But Depsang will not be easy to resolve," said an official.