Disengagement at Pangong to be over by this week

Complete disengagement at the Pangong lake as agreed between India and China last week is expected to be over by end of this week. Last week, it was agreed that as part of disengagement, Chinese forces will move east of finger 8 of the north bank of the lake, while India will base its troops at the permanent base -- Dhan Singh Thapa post near finger 8. 

Right now, on the ground, between finger 4 and finger 8, things are in various stages of dismantlement. As part of the agreement, it was agreed that any structure built by both sides after April 2020 will be removed. April 2020 was the month when Chinese attempts to change things on the ground unilaterally started. 

Once the disengagement is over at Pangong, no patrolling will take place in the area from Finger 4 to finger 8 till both sides agree via diplomatic and military talks. 

The 10th round of military talks, which was agreed to happen 48 hours after complete disengagement will happen, expectedly by next week. The talks will focus on disengagement on Gogra, Depsang, and hot spring.   

2020 saw heightened tensions between India and China due to aggressive actions by Chinese forces at the Line of actual control in eastern Ladakh. The Galwan incident saw the death of 20 Indian soldiers, and while China also suffered casualties, it did not come up with any number.