After months of confrontations, India and China withdraw their forces from border area
India and China withdrew their forces from the disputed border region after months of confrontations, and after talks between military leaders and diplomats.
On Thursday, Indian Defense Minister Ragat Singh said that New Delhi and Beijing have agreed to withdraw their forces from a disputed lake area west of the Himalayas, noting that this agreement constitutes a breakthrough after a months-long confrontation on the border between the two countries.
In addition, Singh told Parliament that the agreement was reached after several rounds of talks between the military and diplomatic leaders of the two countries.
"Our continuous talks with China led to an agreement on disengagement on the northern and southern banks of Lake Pangung," Singh said, according to Reuters.
"The Indian government has informed Beijing that the Chinese troop movements have severely damaged peace and stability in the region," Singh said, adding that bilateral relations were negatively affected.
"Once the disengagement is complete in the Pangung Lake area, military leaders will meet within 48 hours to discuss withdrawal from other areas," he said.
For its part, the Chinese Ministry of Defense said that the forces of the two countries began to withdraw from the banks of the lake on Wednesday, and said that their forces were operating in their area, and accused the Indian border guards of committing provocative acts.
It is noteworthy that the confrontation between the two countries began in April of last year, when India said that Chinese forces had penetrated its side of the Line of Effective Control in the Ladakh region in the western Himalayas.
J.O
