Patrolling at Depsang to resume by end of month
Patrolling, which had been blocked since April 2020, will resume on the Depsang plateau by the end of this month as the disengagement process with China in Eastern Ladakh will be completed by October 28-29, Army sources said, adding that the process has begun to dismantle temporary structures that had been created after the border flare-up.
«Troops from both sides will fall back to positions they held pre April 2020 and will patrol to areas that were patrolled till April 2020. Regular ground commanders meetings will continue to be held,» sources said, explaining that the modalities of patrolling have been identified and a particular strength of patrol parties will be sent by each side.
Sharing details, sources said that to avoid face-offs between troops, it has been agreed that advance information about the patrolling will be shared by each side. This would enable both India and China to prevent troops coming face to face while patrolling disputed areas and would build trust and confidence.
Sources added that the current agreement is applicable only to Depsang and Demchock, the last two border hotspots in Eastern Ladakh that emerged after China moved in troops in April 2020 under the guise of an army exercise. Talks on resolving the other buffer zones that were created at areas like Gogra, Galwan and Pangong Tso will continue, sources added, sharing that the current agreement does not deal with those issues. «The agreement will not be applicable for other friction zones,» they said, adding that the talks did not
