India and China have completed withdrawal of troops from part of their disputed Himalayan border, a joint statement from India’s Ministry of Defense says.
According to the communiqué, soldiers completed their withdrawal from the Pangong Tso Lake area on Saturday.
Clashes at the ill-marked border resulted in the death of 24 troops last June.
Both sides say they will work to reduce tensions on other parts of the boundary of Line of Actual Control.
China and India announced their intention to withdraw troops from the Lake District on Feb. 11, and commanders met on Saturday to assess the progress of the operation.
The two sides welcomed the smooth completion of the withdrawal of front troops in the Pangong Lake area and noted that it was an important step forward that provided a good basis for resolving other remaining problems along the LAC in the Western Sector. Sunday’s statement said.
Commanders held nine rounds of talks to arrive at this stage.
The statement acknowledged that other parts of the border remained tense and looked forward to continuing talks.
“ The two sides agreed to follow the important consensus of their state leaders, to continue their communication and dialogue, to stabilize and control the situation on the ground, to strive for a mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues on a steady and orderly way, to jointly maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas. “
Before the retreat around Pangong Tso Lake was completed, troops from both sides were positioned on the north and south coasts in the territory claimed by both sides.
Months of tension have heightened fears that the continued deployment of thousands of troops in the Ladakh region and the Chinese-ruled Aksai Chin could lead to an escalating conflict.
India and China have been engaged in a border dispute for decades and went to war in 1962. The border is 3,440 km long and poorly defined.
Rivers, lakes and snowcaps along the border mean that the border can shift, bringing soldiers face to face at many points, leading to confrontation. However, the two countries have a long-standing agreement not to use weapons or explosives along the border.
In January, troops on both sides were injured in a collision in the northeastern Indian state of Sikkim.
Twenty Indian troops were killed in the June clash in the Galwan Valley. China admitted two days ago that four of its soldiers died in the encounter. Weapons reportedly used included stones and nail-studded clubs.
China said the incident involved “fistfights”.