As India, China Agree On Breakthrough In Pangong Tso, Here Is A Timeline Of Events

In what could be the biggest breakthrough so far in the bitter stand-off between India and China in eastern Ladakh, the two sides have reached an agreement on disengagement in the North and South bank of Pangong lake.

Sharing details of the pact to defuse the tense military face-off in eastern Ladakh that severely strained ties between the two Asian giants, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said India and China have reached an agreement on disengagement in the North and South bank of Pangong lake that mandates both sides to cease forward deployment of troops in a "phased, coordinated and verifiable" manner.

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Both sides agreed to move structures

Making a statement in the Upper House a day after China announced the disengagement process, Singh said both sides have agreed to remove structures that had been built since April last in North and South bank areas, and put in place a temporary moratorium on military activities including patrolling the traditional areas.

Pangong Tso has been the location for the worst clashes between India and China in nearly four decades. It all began on 6 May 2020 with a violent confrontation between rival patrols near Pangong Tso Ladakh.

Pangong Lake in Leh/AFP

Just a few days later on May 9, there were clashes between the two sides on another border, at Naku La, Sikkim.

In the days that followed there were several engagements between the officials of both sides in search of a bilateral solution.

Talks continued into the month of June, but the situation worsened further on the 15th when soldiers from the two sides got into hand-to-hand combat. 20 Indian soldiers, including the Commanding officer of 16 Bihar Regiment, Colonel Santosh Babu were killed in the clashes. Though the Chinese side also suffered losses, they have not yet revealed the extend.

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Galwan clashes

The worst clashes along the border in over four decades were followed by a series of Major general level officers meet near Galwan, for the release of the captive soldiers.

Though there were two commander-level talks between India and China in June, it did not result in a substantial development.

In July, amid the continuing standoff Prime Minister Modi visited military posts in Ladakh and delivered a speech saying that the "age of expansionism" is over.

In the meantime, the two sides continued to engage in talks that failed to deliver.

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Towards the end of August, the two armies once again came face-to-face on the southern bank of Pangong Tso.

The next few months saw several military and government-level talks between the two sides, but they once again failed to reach any agreements.

The new year also did not give much hope for peace as India captured a Chinese soldier on January 9th in Ladakh.

On January 20, a minor border clash was reported from Naku La, Sikkim. India and Chinese armies clashed after the Indian Army thwarted PLA¡¯s fresh intrusion attempt in Sikkim. Soldiers on both sides injured following a physical brawl after Indian troops stopped a PLA patrol party attempting to cross into Indian territory.

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On February 7, union minister VK Singh, who is also a former Army chief said if China has transgressed 10 times, we must have done it at least 50 times, as per our perception.

China reacted to the comments saying that it was an unwitting confession.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said "India's transgressions" were the root cause of tensions at the de-facto border between the two countries.

"This is an unwitting confession by the Indian side. For a long time, the Indian side has conducted frequent acts of trespass in the border area in an attempt to encroach on China's territory and constantly created disputes and frictions, which is the root cause of the tensions at the China-India border," Wang Wenbin said.

On February 10, Gen. Singh clarified that his remarks were "distorted".

"I saw my reported reply to a question in Madurai splashed across social media and the newspapers, wherein I am purported to have said that India has been transgressing the LAC with China, five times to every one ingress of theirs. This distortion could not be further from the truth. I have simply stated the established fact that the borders along the LAC have not been demarcated and until that is done there will always be differing perceptions," Singh said in a statement.

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Under the new agreement, both sides will cease their forward deployments in a phased, coordinated and verified manner."

"The Chinese side will keep its troop presence in the North bank area to east of Finger 8. Reciprocally, the Indian troops will be based at their permanent base at Dhan Singh Thapa post near Finger 3. A similar action would be taken in the South bank area by both sides," Rajnath said.

He said patrolling will be resumed in the areas only when both sides reach an agreement in diplomatic and military talks that would be held subsequently.

He said these are mutual and reciprocal steps and any structures that had been built by both sides since April 2020 in both North and South bank areas will be removed and the landforms will be restored.

"I want to assure this House that in these talks we have not conceded anything. The House should also know that there are still some outstanding issues with regard to deployment and patrolling at some other points along the Line of Actual Control(LAC) in eastern Ladakh," he said.

"These will be the focus of further discussions with the Chinese side. We have agreed that both sides should achieve complete disengagement at the earliest and abide fully by the bilateral agreements and protocols."