Indian and Chinese troops have begun disengaging from the Gogra-Hotsprings border area in the western Himalayas, both sides said, two years after clashes at the frontier strained diplomatic ties.
China’s defence ministry said on Friday that troops from both sides had started to disengage in a “synchronised and planned” manner.
“This is conducive to maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas,” the ministry said.
India and China share an undemarcated 3,800 km-long (2,360 mile-long) border, where their troops previously adhered to long-standing protocols to avoid the use of any firearms.
India moved some 50,000 troops along contested areas in Ladakh to match Chinese deployments, some of them at altitudes of more than 15,000 feet (4,572 m), where scarce oxygen and freezing temperatures can be life-threatening.
Chinese troops dismantled dozens of structures and moved vehicles to empty out entire camps from the banks of the Pangong Tso lake in Ladakh in February 2021, as part of an agreement to pull back their soldiers, some of whom were deployed in close proximity to each other.
