India, China disengage at Gogra Hot Springs, but friction points remain

While this is a positive development and there could some amount of normalcy in the ties, India will have to wait longer for the process to be completed in the other areas

New Delhi, Sep 12: It came as a surprise to all when India and China announced that their respective armies would be disengaging at the Gogra Hot Springs PP-15 along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh.

A joint statement read that the disengagement would begin on September 9 and the process would be completed by September 12.

The decision to disengage was taken during the 16th India-China commander level talks. It was decided to disengage in a coordinated manner which is conducive to peace and harmony, a joint statement released by the Ministry of Defence said.

The 16th round of talks was held between the Corps Commander of India and China at Chushul Moldo Meeting Point on July 17, 2022. Since then, the two sides had maintained regular contact to build on the progress achieved during the talks to resolve the relevant issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Western Sector of the India-China border.

As a result, both the sides have now agreed on disengagement in the area of the Gogra Hot Springs (PP-15), External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said. He also said that as per the agreement, the disengagement process in the area stared on September 8 at 8.30 am and the same would be completed by September 12. The two sides also agreed to crease forward deployments in this area in a phased, verified and coordinated manner resulting in the return of the troops of both sides to their respective areas, he also told the media.

The Chinese version of the statement read, "On September 8, according to the consensus reached in the 16th round of commander-level talks between China and India, the front-line troops of the Chinese and Indian troops in Ganandaban (or Jianan Daban) began to disengage in a planned manner. This is conducive to maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas."

The other areas that the stand-off continues is at Demchok and the Depsang areas. While the Chinese media reported the news in English, there was hardly any reporting done in the Chinese language media. "With the disengagement, the two sides have found a way to avoid a serious confrontation in future, experts said, adding it comes ahead of an important summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation," a report in the China Daily said.

Minutes after the announcement, all major Indian news channels issued breaking news bulletins in this regard. One news channel said the Himalayan ice has melted, another news channel reported it as an important milestone to restore bilateral relations between the two countries, the report also read.

While the news remained a low key affair on the media, it, however, began to trend on Sina Weibo, the Chinese social media platform, only after Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning responded to a question by an Indian journalist, Ananth Krishnan.

"According to the consensus reached in the 16th Round of China-India Corps Commander Level Meeting, the Chinese and Indian troops in the area of Jianan Daban began to disengage on September 8. This is the outcome of multiple rounds of talks over a period of time between the two sides' diplomatic and military establishments at various levels. It is conducive to peace and tranquillity in the border areas" Mao Ning said.

While this is a positive development and there could some amount of normalcy in the ties, India will have to wait longer for the process to be completed in the other areas. There would be continued bi-lateral and military commander level talks for the disenngamgnet in the remaining areas.

The fact that the disengagement will take longer was evident from the response by China on Friday when India was accused of carrying out military incursions. This, according to Beijing, led to the ongoing stand-off in Eastern Ladakh.

"I'd like to state that the status quo of April 2020 you mentioned was created by India's illegal crossing of the LAC. China will by no means accept that," a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said.

Sources tell OneIndia that the disengagement at Gogra Hotsprings could be due to the fact that China wants the SCO to carry on smoothly. There is also no word as yet on whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping would have a bilateral on the sidelines of the SCO on September 15 and 16 at Samarkand. The Chinese foreign ministry said that it had no information to share on such a meeting at the SCO where India prepares to takeover the presidency in 2023.