India and China agree to withdraw troops from parts of the LoAC

The Indian and Chinese armies have agreed to pull back from a bitterly contested region along their disputed Line of Actual Control (LoAC) in the Himalayas, where they have been locked in a stand-off since May 2020.

Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told the parliament in New Delhi on 11 February that several rounds of talks between military commanders and diplomats from either side led to an agreement on troop disengagement along the northern and southern banks of the 4,350 m-high Pangong Tso (Pangong Lake) – in the Himalayan Ladakh region – in a “phased, co-ordinated, and verified manner”.

Indian soldiers near the Zojila mountain pass connecting Srinagar to Ladakh, bordering China, in November 2020. The Indian and Chinese armies have agreed to pull back along the northern and southern banks of the 4,350 m-high Pangong Tso (Pangong Lake) in the Himalayan Ladakh region. (Tauseef Mustafa/AFP via Getty Images)

The two sides also agreed to hold the next meeting between senior military commanders 48 hours after disengaging to address other outstanding issues, which Singh declined to elaborate upon.

Singh stated that under the agreement People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops will withdraw to the Lake’s northern bank, located to the east of the ‘Finger 8’ mountain spur, while Indian Army (IA) troops will return to their ‘Finger 3’ administrative camp to which they have had no access since the stand-off began.

“It has also been agreed to have a temporary moratorium on military activities by both sides along the North Bank, including patrolling to traditional areas,” said Singh. Patrolling will only resume after both sides reach an agreement in subsequent diplomatic and military talks, added the minister.