Prime Minister Modi and Xi Jinping
As per the agreement between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping, disengagement will begin along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh. Patrols will resume in Depsang and Demchok between the two countries. New tents installed by China in Demchok after 2020. They will be dismantled and the Indian Army will also dismantle the tents set up to deal with China. In Depsang, Chinese soldiers will retreat from areas that impede Indian patrols, and Indian soldiers will retreat from areas that impede Chinese patrols.
According to sources, patrols in these two locations can continue as before April 2020. Local commanders will continue to conduct military-level meetings between the two armies to establish a monitoring mechanism. This means that even if a consensus is reached, it will still take time for the situation in eastern Ladakh to return to normal. Moreover, it is clear that Indian soldiers will firmly maintain their position at the LAC even in this winter.
Depsang and Demchok disengage
Army sources said the deal mentioned at the diplomatic level has been agreed on the disengagement of Depsang and Demchok and it was agreed to start patrolling in these two areas only. However, negotiations are currently underway at the level of local military commanders, who will decide on the frequency of patrols and the number of soldiers on the patrols.
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Discussion starts patrolling
In addition, plenary meetings at the local commander level are also being held to rebuild mutual trust. First, there is no consensus on the establishment of buffer zones in Galwan, the north shore of Pangong Lake, the Kailash range and Gogra hot springs. After disengagement, buffer zones were set up in these four places, ranging from 3 to 10 kilometers. Sources said talks are now on track to end these buffer zones and start patrolling them.
Disengagement, downgrade and deactivation
In April 2020, when the three Ds of disengagement, de-escalation and deactivation are completed, the LAC will consider the first scenario. As per the current agreement between India and China, only the first D mission will be completed after the disengagement of Depsang and Demchok. Disengagement means a soldier withdraws from a confrontation. The second stage is when the situation eases, which is when soldiers, military equipment, and weapons of the two countries return to normal. The third D indicates that the third stage is the deduction stage.
Currently, both sides have deployed more than 50,000 to 50,000 troops along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh. Retreat means bringing back to its original location the large number of soldiers and military equipment deployed there. Only after that can we say that the LAC has returned to the situation before April 2020.
