Union Defense Minister Rajnath Singh informed Rajya Sabha today that India and China have reached a mutual agreement to disengage troops from north and south of the Pangong lake in the eastern Ladakh region.
This is the first major breakthrough in the nine-month-long military standoff between Indian and China. The north and south banks of Pangong Tso are two of the most sensitive and significant regions when it comes to the current standoff that began in May 2020.
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The Defense Minister said that the continued talks with China have led to the consensus on disengagement on the north and south banks of Pangong Tso Lake. Post the agreement, India and China will remove forward deployments in a phased and coordinated manner in line with the agreement reached between Corps Commanders when they last met on 24th January.
The minister further told that China will keep its troops to the east of Finger 8 in the north of Pangong Lake while India will keep its troops near Finger 3 – its permanent base.
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Rajnath Singh said that while China has built up a heavy force with arms and ammunition at various spots near the LAC (Line of Actual Control) on their side in eastern Ladakh, Indian forces also have adequate and effective counter deployment.
He reiterated that the Indian government is committed to maintaining a peaceful situation at the LAC and emphasized on maintaining bilateral ties. He further declared that not even an inch of territorial land will be given up and India has lost nothing since the faceoff.
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The Chinese defense ministry also issued a statement to this effect on Wednesday.
Both sides have also agreed that the area between Finger 8 and Finger 3 will be a no-patrolling zone temporarily till a mutual agreement is reached through diplomatic discussions. Further, constructions done by both sides will also be removed on the north and south banks of the Pangong Tso lake.
