Armies of India, China to do weekly patrolling at Depsang and Demchock; first round completed

New Delhi: The armies of India and China have decided to carry out one round of patrolling every week at Depsang and Demchok areas in eastern Ladakh, defence sources said here on Tuesday, noting that the first round of patrolling was completed in November.

The two sides agreed to inform each other while on patrol duty in order to prevent a chance of meeting between the troops. As a part of the deal, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army conducted its first patrol at Depsang on Monday.

Government sources earlier said the disengagement process at Depsang and Demchok areas was completed, following which Indian troops carried out patrolling. Officials denied either side putting up any roadblocks for patrol parties.

The Indian Army began patrolling at Depsang on November 4, three days after troops patrolled the Demchok sector.

It is not known how many patrolling points the Indian troops are able to access after the resumption of patrolling. Earlier access to five such points at Depsang and two points at Demchok were blocked by the PLA soldiers.

Depsang and Demchok were the last two friction points during the four and half years long tense stand-off between Indian and Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh.

While disputes on other flashpoints were sorted out by mutually agreeing to create buffer zones, Depsang and Demchok remained sore points as they were considered “legacy” issues.

On Oct 21, New Delhi and Beijing announced that the two sides had agreed on disengagement in Depsang and Demchok following a series of meetings between the diplomats and top military officials, and patrolling would resume after the troops went back to their pre-April 2020 positions.

The move marked a significant development in the pursuit of reduced tension along the LAC in eastern Ladakh since the fierce clash at Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two neighbours in decades. The ties between the two Asian giants had nosedived following the clash.

After the disengagement, India gave Diwali sweets to the PLA troops at five locations on the LAC. But neither side lowered their guards, sources said.