New Delhi, Sept. 8: The Indian and Chinese troops have begun to disengage from the area of Gogra-Hot Springs in eastern Ladakh, according to a joint statement issued on Thursday. The development comes based on the consensus reached at the 16th round of the India-China Corps Commander level meeting, the statement added.

“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 from the two sides read.

The 16th round of the meeting happened on July 17 at the Chushul-Moldo border. Prior to that, a meeting was held in March.

“Both sides agreed on further reducing the remaining strength of troops from the Hot Springs area between them,” a source had said.

Last year, during the 12th round of talks, both sides had officially agreed on a disengagement at this point, but it was not fully implemented.

According to a joint press statement issued by New Delhi and Beijing after the July meeting, both sides — taking off from the progress made at the past several rounds of talks — continued discussions for the resolution of the relevant issues along the LAC in the Western Sector in a constructive and forward-looking manner.

“They had a frank and in-depth exchange of views in this regard, in keeping with the guidance provided by the State Leaders to work for the resolution of the remaining issues at the earliest. The two sides reaffirmed that the resolution of remaining issues would help in restoration of peace and tranquility along the LAC in the Western Sector and enable progress in bilateral relations," the statement added.

India and China have been locked in a bitter border standoff in multiple locations in eastern Ladakh since May 2020, when around 250 Chinese and Indian soldiers got into a violent face-off. The tension escalated manifold after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a violent clash in Galwan Valley on June 15. This led to both sides gradually deploying tens of thousands of soldiers as well as heavy weaponry along the border.

The first round of the Lt General talks was held on June 6 during which both sides finalised an agreement to disengage gradually from all the standoff points beginning with the Galwan Valley. However, several rounds of military and diplomatic talks only resulted in partial disengagement of troops until now.-Agencies