China began withdrawing troops from its disputed border with India on Monday after clashes between the two nuclear powers last month in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed, according to Indian government sources.
Troops fought for hours with metal bars 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 report 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 army was seen dismantling tents and structures at a site in the Galwan Valley, near where the last clash took place, Indian government sources said.
Vehicles could be seen retreating from 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.
The parties said they had agreed to a significant troop withdrawal, and the note from India also said the parties had agreed to respect existing Reflective Line of Control positions 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In response to a question about whether China had withdrawn the team in the Galwan Valley, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said both sides were “taking effective measures to disconnect and alleviate the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, stretching for 2,520 miles. “
“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 Monday.
But China, like India, a nuclear power with a big economy, also gave an aggressive note in its statement.
“The good and the bad of what happened recently in the Galwan Valley on the western side of the China-India border is very clear,” said the Chinese foreign ministry, Bloomberg reported.
“China will continue to firmly safeguard our territorial sovereignty, as well as peace and tranquility in the border areas.”
With Reuters
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