New Delhi, 25 October, 2024: India and China have reached an agreement to resume coordinated patrolling by their troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, specifically in the areas of Depsang and Demchok, starting October 30. Before patrolling recommences, both sides are set to dismantle any temporary structures they had erected to restrict each other’s patrol routes.
This reopening of patrolling, announced last Monday, marks a return to the positions both armies held before the heightened tensions in April 2020. “We will go back to patrolling the locations we were covering before April 2020,” Army sources confirmed on Friday.
Under the terms of this arrangement, patrols by either side will be pre-coordinated and announced in advance, aiming to prevent faceoffs along the LAC. “These measures are intended to ensure no confrontations arise,” sources added. Indian troops will carry rifles, as was standard practice during prior patrols.
Currently, this patrolling arrangement applies solely to Depsang and Demchok, leaving other contested regions like Gogra, Hot Springs, Pangong Tso, and Galwan, where disengagement has previously taken place, outside of the new agreement.
