Ahead of SCO summit, India and China begin disengagement in eastern Ladakh

In a major development, the Indian and Chinese armies on Thursday announced that they have started to disengage from the Gogra-Hotsprings area in eastern Ladakh, marking an end to an over two-year stand-off in the Patrolling Point 15.

The beginning of the disengagement process was an outcome of the 16th round of high-level military talks in July, according to a joint statement by the two armies.

"On 8th September 2022, according to the consensus reached in the 16th round of India China Corps Commander level meeting, the Indian and Chinese troops in the area of Gogra-Hotsprings (PP-15) have begun to disengage in a coordinated and planned way, which is conducive to the peace and tranquility in the border areas," the statement said.

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The announcement of the disengagement process comes around a week ahead of the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Uzbekistan which is set to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping. There is speculation that there could be a bilateral meeting between the two leaders. However, there is no official word on such a possibility.