The Indian Army on Thursday said there had been no roadblock or objection in the Indian and Chinese troop disengagement at Depsang and Demchok in eastern Ladakh.
“Certain Media Articles on 06-07 November 2024 have speculated about roadblocks/objections in the disengagement process consequent to the consensus between the Indian and Chinese sides on 21 October 24,” the army's Additional Directorate General of Public Information, said in a post on its official X (formerly Twitter) handle.
“It is unambiguously stated that the disengagement at Depsang and Demchok has been completed and implementation of consensus as agreed to, is being undertaken in a planned manner that includes resumption of patrolling to traditional patrolling areas. There are no roadblocks/objections from either side that have been faced in this process,” the post said.
The Army called the articles which said there are deadlock in disengagement talks, “speculative and bereft of facts.”
“The articles published in this regard are speculative and bereft of facts. The concerned media houses are requested to verify and authenticate facts before publishing such sensitive articles and exercise due editorial discretion so that no unsubstantiated or misleading information is propagated,” the statement said.
Both India and China reached an agreement on October 21 to withdraw troops in eastern Ladakh’s Depsang and Demchok sector. The standoff, which started in 2020 during the Galwan crisis, seemed to have ended with this consensus.
“It is not like everything has been resolved, but the disengagement which is the first phase – we have managed to reach that level,” Union minister for external affairs S Jaishankar had said on October 26 when asked about the troop disengagement at Demchok and Depsang Plains.