Indian and Chinese troops start disengaging from western Himalayan region

In a major breakthrough after months of negotiations, India and China today (September 8, 2022) announced that they have started to disengage their troops from Gogra-Hotsprings area in the Himalayas of eastern Ladakh, marking an end to a nearly two-year stand-off.

The beginning of the disengagement process was an outcome of the 16th round of high-level military commanders' talks in July, according to a joint statement by the two armies, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

"On 8th September 2022, according to the consensus reached in the 16th round of India-China Corps Commander level meeting, the Indian and Chinese troops in the area of Gogra-Hotsprings (Patrolling Point-15) have begun to disengage in a coordinated and planned way, which is conducive to the peace and tranquility in the border areas," the statement said.

The announcement of the disengagement process comes around a week ahead of the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Uzbekistan which is set to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The disengagement of Indian and Chinese soldiers from friction points along the Line of Control dividing the two Asian giants, in Ladakh sector, had been stuck for over a year, with the last breakthrough having come in August 2021 when the two armies pulled back their forward deployed troops from Gogra sector (Patrolling Point-17A).