India, China complete disengagement at Demchok and Depsang, patrolling to resume soon along LAC

India and China on Wednesday successfully concluded the disengagement process at two friction points—Demchok and Depsang Plains—along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, according to sources. This milestone comes after weeks of high-level negotiations, aiming to ease tensions and restore peace in the region after the severe confrontations of 2020.

Following today’s disengagement, ground commanders—at the level of brigadiers and below—will convene to coordinate safe patrolling protocols for both sides. These modalities are expected to enable a structured and monitored reintroduction of joint patrolling activities in the area soon, which were suspended following the 2020 Galwan Valley conflict.

Adding a positive note to the easing of tensions, India and China plan to exchange sweets along the LAC on Thursday, coinciding with Diwali celebrations.

After a key agreement was finalized between India and China, the two nations initiated troop disengagement at two friction points—Demchok and Depsang Plains in eastern Ladakh—on October 2.

Relations between the two Asian powers had sharply deteriorated following a violent clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020, the most intense military conflict between them in decades.

On October 21, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri stated in New Delhi that the agreement had been finalized after several weeks of negotiations, aiming to resolve issues that arose in 2020.

Two days late, on October 23, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping endorsed the disengagement and patrolling agreement along the LAC in eastern Ladakh during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia.