Chinese military further withdraws troops from Pangong Tso area: Sources

NEW DELHI: Chinese military further thinned down its presence in the ridgeline of Finger Four and removed some boats from Pangong lake in eastern Ladakh ahead of another round of Lt General-level talks between India and China aimed at finalising modalities for complete disengagement along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), people familiar with the development said on Saturday. The escalation in tension in eastern Ladakh was triggered by a violent clash between the two armies in Pangong Tso on May 5 in which a sizeable number of personnel from both sides were injured. Following the incident, both sides were locked in an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation in three other locations in the region.

At the military talks, the two sides are expected to specifically focus on completing withdrawal of troops from Pangong Tso and Depsang besides laying out a detailed roadmap for disengagement of large numbers of troops from the rear bases by the two sides in a timebound manner. Both sides had significantly ramped up troops and weaponry including tanks and artillery guns in eastern Ladakh.

The formal process of disengagement of troops began on Monday morning after a nearly two-hour telephonic conversation between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday.

The Chinese military has already completed moving back its troops from the face-off sites in Galwan Valley, Gogra and Hot Springs in line with the first phase of the disengagement process, sources said.