NEW DELHI: The External Affairs Ministry said on Friday that  India and China would complete the disengagement process in the Gogra-Hotsprings area in eastern Ladakh by September 12. 

A day after the Indian and Chinese forces declared they had started to withdraw from the Gogra-Hotsprings Patrolling Point 15, where the two sides had been engaged in a standoff for more than two years, the ministry made its statement.

The External Affairs Ministry said, the two sides have also agreed to move the negotiations along, address outstanding concerns, and reestablish calm along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) along the India-China border regions.

It has been decided that all temporary buildings and other supporting infrastructure built in the area by both sides would be taken down and certified by both parties. Both parties would work to return the area's landforms to how they were before the impasse, said Arindam Bagchi, a spokeswoman for the external affairs ministry, in answer to questions about the matter.

Bagchi reported that on July 17, 2022, the Corps Commanders of China and India held their 16th round of negotiations at the Chushul Moldo conference location.

Since then, the two sides have kept in touch on a regular basis to build on the gains made in the negotiations and settle the pertinent disputes along the LAC in the Western Sector of the India-China border areas, the official said. As a result, he stated, both parties have now decided to disengage in the Gogra-Hotsprings (PP-15) region.
According to the agreement, the disengagement procedure in this area began on September 8 at 8:30 am and will end on September 12 according to Bagchi. 
The return of the forces from both sides to their respective zones will follow the agreement between the two parties to gradual, coordinated, and confirmed termination of forward deployments in this area, he continued.

Bagchi said, the agreement guarantees that all parties would rigorously adhere to and respect the LAC in this area and that the status quo won't be changed unilaterally.  "With the standoff at PP-15 resolved, both sides agreed to move the negotiations forward and address the outstanding concerns along LAC in order to bring calm and harmony to the India-China border areas," he said.

The Chinese defence ministry claimed in a statement released in Beijing that the coordinated and planned disengagement of Chinese and Indian forces in the vicinity of Jianan Daban is promoting calm and peace in the border regions.

Indian officials said that the place that China is referring to as Jianan Daban is the same as Patrolling Point-15 in the Gogra-Hotsprings region that was mentioned in a news release from the Indian Army on Thursday.

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