According to China’s Ministry of National Defense, China and India have begun to disengage their border troops along Bangong Lake, which sits in China and Indian-controlled Kashmir, on February 10.
This move was based on the two sides’ ninth round of bilateral Corps Commander talks held on January 24 where both sides agreed to “push an early disengagement between the frontline troops.”
Chinese and Indian border troops in the Galwan Valley region have been on high alert since April 2020 when Indian troops, according to Chinese media, unilaterally built roads and bridges along the border regardless of the Chinese side’s objection. The dispute escalated into a violent hand-to-hand conflict in June 2020.
After rounds of the Corps Commander talks, the tension is under control, and the latest dialogue has gone a step further by mentioning “disengagement” for the first time. The two sides have agreed to “maintain the good momentum of dialogue and negotiation” to “jointly advance de-escalation.”
Qian Feng, a professor at the National Strategy Institute, Tsinghua University, warned that the US might be a big uncertainty in the China-India border tension, since the US Ambassador to India Richard Verma reportedly admitted in January that the US military has provided intelligence support to India during its dispute with China, the Global Times reported.
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