New Delhi: China has broken down a number of constructions and moved vehicles to empty entire camps along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The LAC is the de facto border between India and China. Both Indian and Chinese troops have been locked in a face-off since last summer. However, satellite images released Wednesday show that China is continuing the disengagement of its troops along the LAC.
Both India and China last week announced a plan to pull back troops, tanks and other equipment from the banks of Pangong Tso. It is a glacial lake in the Ladakh region. It became a flashpoint in the prolonged border dispute.
Satellite imagery of some areas on the northern bank of Pangong Tso from Tuesday show that multiple Chinese military camps, that could be seen there in late January, have been removed. “Similar action is happening from our side also,” an official, who asked not to be named, was quoted as saying by ‘Reuters’.
Also read: India, China have reached agreement to disengage from Pangong lake: Rajnath Singh
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told the Parliament a couple of days back that both sides had agreed to pull back troops. The disengagement of troops will be done in ‘a phased, coordinated and verified manner’ around Pangong Tso, Singh had said. Then the military commanders would discuss ending the standoff in other parts of the Ladakh frontier, he added.
Tensions began rising along the high-altitude border in April, when India accused Chinese troops of intruding into its side of the LAC. China denied the allegation, saying it was operating in its own area. However, the confrontation went out of hand in June when 20 Indian soldiers and an undisclosed number of Chinese troops were killed during hand-to-hand clashes in Ladakh’s Galwan region. They were the first such casualties along the 3,500 km-long-border in decades.