India, China agree to disengage in Gogra & Hot Springs: Sources

New Delhi: The 10th round of Corps Commander-level talks between India and China lasted for around 16 hours and according to sources, the focus of the talks was to take forward the disengagement process in friction points like Hot Springs, Gogra and Depsang in eastern Ladakh.

Sources also said that consensus has been reached for further military withdrawal. According to sources, they have reached an agreement to disengage in Gogra and Hot Springs but no agreement on Depsang and Demchok yet. The Corps Commander-level talks at the Moldo border point on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control began at around 10 am on Saturday and ended at 2 am on Sunday, they said.

In a joint statement later on Sunday evening, India and China said that the disengagement of troops in Pangong Lake area in Eastern Ladakh is a significant step forward for resolution of other remaining issues along the LAC in the western sector. The two sides also agreed to follow the important consensus of their state leaders, continue their communication and dialogue, stabilise and control the situation on the ground and push for a mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues in a steady and orderly manner so as to jointly maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas.

The talks took place two days after both militaries concluded withdrawal of troops and weapons from North and South banks of Pangong Tso in the high-altitude region.

In the talks, India is learnt to have insisted on a faster disengagement process in areas like Hot Springs, Gogra and Depsang to bring down tension in the region. According to sources, the two sides also reviewed the completed military withdrawal process at Pangong Tso, with the return of armed troops and infantrymen from the northern and southern coasts, including the Kailash Range.

On Saturday evening, sources had said that bringing down the tension in the region was the broad priority of the talks. India has all along been maintaining that disengagement at all the friction points was necessary to de-escalate the situation in the region.

On February 11, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced in Parliament that India and China reached an agreement on disengagement in the North and South banks of Pangong lake that mandates both sides to "cease" forward deployment of troops in a "phased, coordinated and verifiable" manner.

The Indian delegation at Saturday's talks was led by Lt Gen PGK Menon, the Commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps.