China and India pull troops back from disputed border in Ladakh

Area around Pangong lake saw deadly clashes between Indian and Chinese troops last year

An Indian army convoy travels along the Srinagar-Ladakh highway towards the Ladakh region in September 2020. AP Photo

India and China have agreed to pull back troops from a bitterly contested lake area high in the western Himalayas, the Indian defence minister said on Thursday, in a breakthrough after a months-long standoff on the disputed border.

Rajnath Singh told parliament the accord over Pangong Tso, a glacial lake at 4,270 metres, had been reached after several rounds of talks between military commanders and diplomats from the nuclear-armed neighbours.

"Our sustained talks with China have led to agreement on disengagement on the north and south banks of the Pangong lake," he said.

China's defence ministry said frontline troops from the two countries began to pull back from the shores of the lake on Wednesday.

A satellite image taken over Galwan Valley in Ladakh, India, parts of which are contested with China, June 16, 2020, in this handout obtained from Planet Labs Inc. REUTERS

An Indian army convoy makes way towards Leh, bordering China, in Gagangir. Twenty Indian soldiers were killed during "hand-to-hand' fighting with Chinese troops in a disputed Himalayan region, India's military said, the first deadly clash between the nuclear powers in decades. AFP

In this May 5, 2013 photo, Chinese troops hold a banner which reads: "You've crossed the border, please go back" in Ladakh, India. China on Tuesday, June 16, 2020 accused Indian forces along their Himalayan border of carrying out "provocative attacks" on its troops, leading to "serious physical conflicts" between the sides. AP Photo

Indian Border Security Force (BSF) soldiers guard a highway leading towards Leh, bordering China, in Gagangir. The long-running border dispute between Asian nuclear powers India and China turned deadly for the first time in nearly half a century after at least 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a "violent face-off", the army said. AFP

The father and mother of Colonel Santosh Babu, who was killed in border clashes with Chinese troops, sit next to his portrait, in Suryapet,Telangana state, India. REUTERS

Police set up barricades outside the Chinese embassy in New Delhi. The long-running border dispute between Asian nuclear powers India and China turned deadly for the first time in nearly half a century after at least 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a "violent face-off", the army said on June 16. AFP

Indian Border Security Force (BSF) soldiers guard a highway leading towards Leh, bordering China, in Gagangir. The long-running border dispute between Asian nuclear powers India and China turned deadly for the first time in nearly half a century after at least 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a "violent face-off", the army said on June 16. AFP

Supporters of India's ruling Bharatiya Jayanta Party (BJP) attempt to burn a sheet resembling the Chinese national flag during a protest against China, in Kochi, India. REUTERS

Anti-China protesters display placards urging citizens to boycott Chinese goods at a market in New Delhi. Twenty Indian soldiers were killed during "hand-to-hand' fighting with Chinese troops in a disputed Himalayan region, India's military said, the first deadly clash between the nuclear powers in decades. AFP

Chinese police and security personnel stand outside the Indian embassy in Beijing. Beijing's state media on June 17 played down a deadly border confrontation between Chinese and Indian troops and did not reveal casualties on its side even as social media users urged retaliation. The Indian army said Tuesday that 20 of its soldiers were killed in a "violent face-off" along the Himalayan frontier on June 16, which resulted in "casualties on both sides". AFP

The standoff began in April last year when India said Chinese troops had intruded deep into its side of the Line of Actual Control – the de facto border in the Ladakh area in the western Himalayas.

China said its troops were operating in its own area and accused Indian border guards of provocative actions.

In June, 20 Indian soldiers were killed when the two sides clashed with iron rods and stones in the Galwan Valley, the first combat losses on the border in 45 years. China also suffered an unspecified number of casualties.

Since then the two countries, who fought a war in 1962, had moved thousands of troops, tanks, artillery guns and combat jets close to the border.

Mr Singh said the Indian government had told Beijing that peace and tranquility had been seriously disturbed by the actions of Chinese troops and bilateral ties had suffered.

"To ensure disengagement in friction points along the LAC, it was our view that troops of both sides, who are now in close proximity, should vacate the forward deployments made in 2020 and return to the permanent and accepted bases," he said.

Pangong lake is a finger of water extending from China's Tibet Autonomous Region in India's Ladakh region.

In August, Indian troops occupied heights on the southern banks of the lake in retaliation against Chinese troops advancing further along the north bank.

Mr Singh said the two sides had agreed to dismantle defence structures they had built on the two sides of the lake, two-thirds of which China controls.

Once the disengagement has been completed at the lake, military commanders will meet within 48 hours to discuss pulling back from other areas, Mr Singh said.

India and China have not been able to agree on their 3,500 kilometre border since the war in 1962.