India China border / Indian, Chinese troops begin disengagement at Pangong Tso Lake: China

NEW DELHI: India and China have started phased disengagement of troops deployed at dangerously close positions along the Ladakh border, with the first step of moving back tanks and armoured units from the Pangong Tso area initiated on Wednesday.

While troops posted at newly-created frontline posts in Chushul (southern bank of the lake) and other areas are not being withdrawn, armoured units are being pulled back as part of a three step disengagement plan, in a big step towards lowering tensions that have been simmering since May last year.

The Chinese government announced a ‘synchronised and organised disengagement’ in a written statement by the ministry of national defence and official word from the Indian side is expected in parliament on Thursday.

The statement from Beijing said that frontline troops from the southern and northern banks have started disengaging, with sources adding that safeguards have been put in place to verify that actions on the ground match the disengagement plan that has been in discussion for months.

As first reported by ET on October 16, army commanders from both sides had identified the pulling back of offensive armoured units as the first step to restore peace along the Line of Actual Control.

Sources said that the next step would be gradual thinning of troops in the Finger Area along the northern bank of Pangong lake.

This thinning involves pulling back troops to Finger 8 by China and India towards Finger 2 over a three to five day process.

The final stage of the disengagement plan is to withdraw troops from strategic heights in Chushul on the southern bank that were taken by India in late August to build pressure on the PLA that was not budging from the north bank.

Earlier in November, both India and China withdrew over 10,000 troops that had been moved into depth areas to support frontline troops in Ladakh.

The troops were moved back as winters set in and talks progressed on the disengagement plan. Sources warned that each step of the plan would need to be verified to move to the next stage. A joint verification plan has also been agreed which would include the use of UAVs to monitor the pull back. The success of the disengagement depends on China carrying through its word reached during discussions with actions on the ground.

However, the deep distrust and history of PLA action in Ladakh does not inspire confidence, hence a stringent verification process has been instituted, sources said.

Officials added that the complete disengagement plan includes other contentious areas like Gogra where troops have also been built up by both sides. While the broad contours of the disengagement plan had been drawn up in October, action on the ground started after the ninth round of Corps Commander-level meeting on January 24.

Pulling back of armoured units from the frontline — both sides have deployed hundreds of tanks and armoured personnel carriers on the border, some of them barely a few hundred feet apart — could lead to a significant reduction of tensions.