The Chinese Army reportedly retreated from patrol point 14, sources said. Point 14 patrolling had emerged as a hotspot after Chinese troops pushed ahead of the Galwan region’s Line of Actual Control (LAC).
A buffer zone has been created between the Indian and Chinese troops, they said, adding a mutual withdrawn of the Indian and Chinese troops have taken place, but are most likely limited to Galwan.”Chinese Army has moved back tents, vehicles & troops by 1-2 km from locations where disengagement was agreed upon at Corps Commander level talks,” news agency ANI reported quoting Indian Army Sources.
“Chinese heavy armored vehicles still present in-depth areas in Galwan river area. Indian army monitoring the situation with caution,” it added.
The severity of the mutual pull-back has not been specified, according to the sources.
Temporary buildings are being dismantled on both sides according to media sources, and physical inspection has also been carried out. The P-8I aircraft of the Indian Navy, which was generally used for maritime patrol and reconnaissance, had been pressed into service in Ladakh for high altitude monitoring.
The P-8Is carried out similar surveillance operations during the 2017 India-China standoff in Doklam in Sikkim.
However, sources said PLA has removed tents and structures at PP14 and rearward movement of vehicles of the PLA were seen in general area Galwan, Hotsprings and Gogra. The retreat on Sunday, sources said, is limited to these areas and not other contentious points along the LAC.
On 30 June, the Indian and Chinese armies held a third round of talks at the Lt General level, during which both sides agreed on a “expedient, phased and step-wise” de-escalation as a “priority” to put an end to the standoff.
The tensions between both the Asian giants escalated following a violent face-off on June 15, when 20 personnel of the Indian Army were martyred in the Galwan Valley. The Chinese side also suffered casualties, but it didn’t provide the details of it.
In the last few weeks, a series of diplomatic and military-level talks are being taking place between both sides to de-escalate the situation at the border.
On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a surprise visit to Ladakh during which he said the era of expansionism is over and that the history is proof that “expansionists” have either lost or perished, in comments which were seen as a clear message to China that India is not going to back off and would deal with the situation with a firm hand.