FILE PHOTO: An Indian Army convoy moves along a road leading to Ladakh, in Gagangeer, in the Ganderbal district of Kashmir, June 18, 2020. REUTERS / Danish Ismail / File Photo
NEW DELHI / BEIJING (Reuters) – China began withdrawing troops from its disputed border with India on Monday, Indian government sources said, following a clash between the two countries last month that killed 20 Indian soldiers.
Troops fought for hours with reeds and sticks on the night of June 15, and some were killed in the icy waters of the Galwan River in the western Himalayas.
China has yet to confirm whether it suffered casualties. Indian deaths are the highest along the border in more than five decades, a dramatic escalation that led to weeks of talks between senior military officials on how to ease tensions.
On Monday, the Chinese military was seen dismantling tents and structures at a site in the Galwan Valley near where the last clash took place, Indian government sources said, who declined to be identified because they are not authorized to speak to the media.
Vehicles were seen leaving the area, as well as Hotsprings and Gogra, two other contested border areas, the sources said.
India’s national security adviser Ajit Doval and Wang Yi, one of China’s top diplomats, had “a frank and profound exchange of views” on Sunday regarding the border, according to briefing notes from both countries published on Monday.
Both sides said they had agreed to a significant withdrawal of the troops. India’s note also said that both sides agreed to respect the existing reflective positions of the Current Line of Control (LAC) along the disputed section of the border. This reference was not included in the Beijing note on the meeting.
In response to a question about whether China had returned the equipment to the Galwan Valley, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said both sides were “taking effective measures to disconnect and alleviate the situation on the border.” .
“We hope that India meets China halfway and takes concrete steps to carry out what both sides agreed to, continue to communicate closely through diplomatic and military channels, and work together to cool the situation on the border,” Zhao said at a press conference on Monday.
Reports by Sanjeev Miglani and Alasdair Pal in New Delhi and Huizhong Wu in Beijing; Written by Alasdair Pal; Editing by Peter Graff
.
