'India-China disengagement from PP-15 in eastern Ladakh to be completed today'

New Delhi: The disengagement of Indian and Chinese armies from Patrolling Point 15 in the Gogra-Hotsprings area of eastern Ladakh is likely to be completed by Monday, officials monitoring the situation said on Sunday on the promise of anonymity.

Both armies on Thursday announced that they have begun to disengage from the Patrolling Point 15 in the Gogra-Hotsprings area , marking a significant forward movement in the stalled process to pull-out troops from the remaining friction points in the region where the two sides have been locked in a stand-off for over two years.

It has been agreed that all temporary structures and other allied infrastructure created in the area by both sides will be dismantled and mutually verified.

The landforms in the area will be restored to the pre-stand-off period by both sides.

The eastern Ladakh border standoff erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong lake areas. Both sides gradually enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers as well as heavy weaponry.

As a result of a series of military and diplomatic talks, the two sides completed the disengagement process last year on the north and south banks of the Pangong lake and in the Gogra area.

The disengagement in the Pangong Lake area had taken place in February last year while the withdrawal of troops and equipment in Patrolling Point 17 (A) in Gogra took place in August last year.