India, China verifying disengagement along LAC
India and China are now physically verifying if the structures and man-made blockages on the patrolling routes at Depsang and Demchok along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh have been removed or not.
The process to verify the removal of all temporary structures, tents, vehicles, cameras, sensors and weapons is likely to be completed by tomorrow, sources said. These structures and equipment were set up to stop each other’s patrolling routes along the LAC. The process to remove temporary structures had started last Wednesday at Demchok and on last Thursday at Depsang. The re-opening of patrolling routes at Depsang and Demchok were announced on October 21.
Sources said patrolling that had been suspended since April 2020 was expected to be resumed after the verification was complete. Patrolling will be coordinated in a manner that troops of both sides inform each other before a patrol party is launched. “This means it will be coordinated and schedules decided in advance,” a source said.
These coordinated patrols are part of the measures put in place so that a face-off can be prevented, the source added. The new ‘patrolling arrangements’ are to re-open routes for Indian troops to patrols at patrolling points 10, 11, 12 and 13, respectively. These routes go eastwards of ‘bottleneck’ — the name of a geographical feature — on the 972 sq km Depsang plateau in east Ladakh. The last time an Indian patrol went east of ‘bottleneck’ was in January 2020.
The present ‘patrolling arrangement’ does not mention the resumption of patrolling at any other contentious spot where disengagement has been done — those are at Gogra, Hot Springs, Pangong Tso and Galwan.
Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday addressed the Army Commanders Conference on the theme of the ‘evolving geopolitical landscape and opportunities for the Indian Armed Forces’. He mentioned the geopolitical dynamics that impact India and highlighted the country’s expectations from the Armed Forces.
