NEW DELHI, Oct 31 – Indian and Chinese troops have exchanged Diwali sweets on five locations long the Line of Actual Control, including two in Ladakh. This comes a day after the two sides completed military disengagement from the Depsang and Demchok areas, in line with last week’s patrolling agreement.
NDTV reported that sweets have been exchanged at Chushul Maldo and Daulat Beg Oldi in Ladakh, Banchha (near Kibutu) and Bumla in Arunachal Pradesh, and Nathula in Sikkim.
The patrolling deal called for removal of military personnel and infrastructure, including temporary camps, from the Depsang plains and Demchok, and withdrawal of troops to pre-April 2020 positions.
The deal, hopefully, will end nearly four years of military and diplomatic tension triggered by skirmishes and violent clashes in the Pangong Lake and Galwan regions in May-June 2020.
These clashes included the death of 20 Indian soldiers in Galwan in June.
Indian Army sources told NDTV Wednesday the verification process – to cross-check that China had, in fact, withdrawn its troops, is ongoing, and that ground-level commanders from each side will inform the other prior to regular patrols “to avoid miscommunication”.
Significantly, both Delhi and Beijing will each continue to have surveillance options in Depsang and Demchok.
