New Delhi: India on Tuesday said both the Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have carried out “disengagement and redeployment of border troops in Chumar and Demchok areas” of eastern Ladakh following the recent standoff between troops of both sides.
A meeting of “border commanders” of the two armies was held at Spanggur Gap in Ladakh near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on Tuesday to “confirm” that the “standoff” has been “successfully terminated”.
The two sides have also agreed to a meeting in mid-October in India to discuss issues pertaining to the maintenance of peace on the border. The statement indicates that troops of both sides have withdrawn from the standoff site to “restore” the “status quo” as on September 1 this year.
"As per the understanding reached between India and China, the two sides have carried out disengagement and redeployment of border troops in Chumar and Demchok areas in Eastern Ladakh on September 26-27, 2014 to restore the status quo ante as on September 1, 2014. A meeting of the border commanders of the two sides was held in the afternoon of 30 September, 2014 at Spanggur Gap to confirm that the standoff between the border troops of the two sides in Chumar and Demchok areas has been successfully terminated. The two sides have also agreed that a meeting of the working mechanism for consultation and coordination on India-China border affairs (WMCC) will be convened in India on October 16-17, 2014 to discuss various issues pertaining to the maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the border areas," the ministry of external affairs said in a statement on Tuesday evening.
Sources had indicated earlier in the day that there were still a few Chinese troops on the ground at Chumar but had expressed confidence that the remaining troops too would move back to earlier positions by the end of the day. The troops of the two sides are also expected to attend a ceremony organised by the Chinese PLA on Wednesday near the LAC to mark the anniversary of the foundation of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949, which is also celebrated as PLA Day.
The two sides had reached an agreement on September 26 to withdraw troops from the standoff site at Chumar by September 30 and it was decided that no fresh construction activity nor any road-laying in territory claimed by both sides would be undertaken. But the Chinese had reportedly insisted that an observation hut in the Tible area, purportedly built by the Indian side between September 1 and 10, should be demolished. India could give in to this demand, with sources indicating earlier that a final decision on this could be taken after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s return to India.
The withdrawal of both Indian and Chinese troops had begun on September 26 following a flag meeting on that day, thereby ending the 16-day-long standoff. News agency reports last week had said that the Indian side had agreed to dismantle its observation posts in a nearby area while the Chinese agreed to stop the construction of a road there.
The Army, however, had maintained that no construction was carried out by it in the area. While the Indian Army had wanted the PLA to return to their pre-September 10 positions in Chumar, China wanted the pre-September 1 position to be restored as it reportedly believed that the observation hut at Tible had been built by the Indian side between September 1 to 10.
The standoff had begun on September 10 after tension at Chumar when some Chinese workers, who were constructing a road on their side, crossed into the Indian side and claimed they had orders to build a road up to Tible, five km inside Indian territory. To make matters worse, a protest by Chinese civilians at another area, Demchok, that was backed by Chinese troops had also begun.
