India, China to resume patrols at 2 friction points by Oct-end

India and China have agreed to restart patrolling by troops at Depsang and Demchok along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh at the end of this month.

Coordinated action to prevent face-off

• The patrolling at Depsang and Demchok along LAC in eastern Ladakh will be done in a coordinated manner
• The patrolling schedules will be decided and shared in advance by both sides to prevent a face-off
• The Indian troops will carry hand-held weapons (read rifles), as they did during patrolling before April 2020

The process follows an agreement firmed up between the two countries on Monday on patrolling and disengagement along the LAC, a breakthrough to end the over four-year standoff.

The patrolling is expected to restart on October 30 after the two sides remove all temporary structures like tents, vehicles, cameras, sensors and weapons to prevent patrolling along the LAC by October 28-29.

The process to remove temporary structures had started on Wednesday at Demchok and on Thursday at Depsang, as reported by The Tribune yesterday. Army sources said only the reopening of patrolling routes at Depsang and Demchok were discussed with the Chinese. “We will go back to patrolling the areas where we were patrolling before April 2020,” the sources said on Friday. The present “patrolling arrangement” does not mention resumption of patrolling at any other contentious spot in eastern Ladakh where disengagement has already been completed like Gogra, Hot Springs, Pangong Tso and Galwan.

The patrolling will be done in a coordinated manner with troops of both sides informing each other about the launch of a patrol party. “This means patrolling schedules will be decided and shared in advance,” the sources said, adding that the coordinated patrols were part of the measures put in place to prevent a face-off. Indian troops will carry hand-held weapons (read rifles), as they did earlier. On being asked if the new patrolling arrangements would permit Indian troops to patrol Patrolling Points 10, 11, 12 and 13, to the east of the Bottleneck (the name of a geographical feature on the Depsang plateau in eastern Ladakh), the sources said all the routes “we patrolled before April 2020 will be open”.

The last time an Indian patrol went east of the Bottleneck was in January 2020.

The second patrolling route to be reopened is at Demchok near Charding La Nalla (also called Demchok Nalla). The Chinese approach the Charding La — a 19,120-foot-high pass — from the southern side. The peak is on the LAC and is patrolled by the Indian Army from the Nalla area on the northern side.

Meanwhile, the sources confirmed that there was no military order to reduce the number of troops along the 832-km LAC in eastern Ladakh. The next two steps of the peace process — de-escalation and de-induction of weapons and men — from the area are still to be negotiated.

The troops of either side too will be at a specified distance from each other at these two friction points.