What is the new disengagement agreement in eastern Ladakh?
Q. What is the news?
In the first major breakthrough in talks to resolve the nine-month military standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, China’s Defence Ministry announced that Chinese and Indian troops on the southern and northern shores of Pangong Tso began “synchronized and organized disengagement” in line with the consensus reached between Corps Commanders when they last met on January 24.
While there was no statement from the Indian Army , Defence Minister Rajnath Singh made a statement in Rajya Sabha about the “present situation in eastern Ladakh.”
Q. What is the new disengagement plan in eastern Ladakh?
According to the statement made by Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and the statement issued by the Chinese Defence Ministry a day before, troops from both sides have started disengaging from the Pangong Tso area in eastern Ladakh.
As of now, the disengagement process seems restricted to the north and south banks of Pangong Tso.
Sources in the security establishment have mentioned that the process has started with the pulling back of certain columns of tanks from the south bank region by both sides. At the moment, there is no pullback of troops from the friction points and the heights they are positioned on. That will happen in a phased and verified manner.
The ground commanders have started meeting to figure out the nitty-gritty of the process.