Deal sealed on disengagement in Easten Ladhak: Rajnath

New Delhi: India and China have reached an agreement on disengagement of troops from the north and south banks of the Pangong Lake in eastern Ladakh, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said in Rajya Sabha on Thursday.Under the agreement, Singh said both sides would cease their forward deployments in a phased, coordinated and verified manner in these areas.
The Defence Minister assured the House that India had not conceded anything while entering into the disengagement process, adding that there are “some outstanding issues” with regard to deployment and patrolling at some other points along the LAC in eastern Ladakh.”I am happy to inform the House that as a result of our well-thought-out approach and sustained talks with the Chinese side, we have now been able to reach an agreement on disengagement in the north and south banks of the Pangong Lake. “It has also been agreed to convene the next meeting of the senior commanders within 48 hours after the complete disengagement in the Pangong Lake area so as to address and resolve all other remaining issues,” he said.Singh said the agreement reached with the Chinese side for disengagement in the Pangong Lake area envisaged that both sides would cease their forward deployments in a phased, coordinated and verified manner.
“The Chinese side will keep its troop presence in the north bank area to east of Finger 8. Reciprocally, the Indian troops will be based at their permanent base at Dhan Singh Thapa Post near Finger 3,” he said.”A similar action will be taken in the south bank area by both sides. These are mutual and reciprocal steps and any structures that had been built by both sides since April 2020 in both north and south bank areas will be removed,” Singh said. Indian and Chinese militaries were locked in a bitter standoff in eastern Ladakh for over nine months.