The Indian Army has commenced a verification patrolling at Depsang, the second friction point in eastern Ladakh, the government said on Saturday.
On Saturday, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told the media in New Delhi that the Indian Army has commenced verification patrolling at Depsang, the second friction point in eastern Ladakh.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to India focuses on border talks with NSA Ajit Doval, amidst efforts to rebuild relations after the Galwan Valley clashes and rising India-US tensions.
Sources had earlier said that the areas and patrolling status were expected to be moved back to pre-April 2020 level.
India is committed to taking forward its ties with China based on mutual trust, respect and sensitivity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Chinese President Xi Jinping as the two leaders held wide-ranging talks to reset the bilateral relations.
The agreement was to disengage from remaining standoff sites along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), two days before a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit.
China's Defence Ministry says the militaries of China and India are making "great progress" in implementing the disengagement agreement to end over four-year-long standoff in eastern Ladakh. Spokesman Sr Col Wu Qian said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Chinese counterpart Admiral Dong Jun had a positive meeting in Vientiane, Laos, last week, and the two sides are implementing the settlement reached between the two counties. The two ministers agreed to implement the important consensus reached between the top leaders and promote stable relations between the two countries, the spokesman said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit Japan and China starting around August 29. The visit to China would be his first after the Ladakh border standoff.
Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi Monday said there is still a 'degree' of standoff between the Indian and Chinese militaries along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh and both sides need to sit down and firm up a broader understanding on how to calm down the situation.
'China's basic purpose of taking the Shaksgam Valley was access to the Indian Ocean.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold bilateral talks on Wednesday on the margins of the Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) summit in Russia, in their first structured meeting since the eastern Ladakh border row erupted in May 2020.
India and China are expected to discuss new confidence-building measures for durable peace and tranquillity along their contested border during Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's two-day visit to India. The visit is seen as an effort to rebuild relations after the Galwan Valley clashes.
Jaishankar also said that there is a need to take the disengagement process forward.
The two sides had started coordinated patrols in the first week of the month after completing disengagement in both Demchok and Depsang in the last week of October.
China welcomes Prime Minister Narendra Modi's planned visit to the Tianjin Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), expressing hope that the event will be a 'gathering of solidarity, friendship and fruitful results'.
The Congress party has accused the Modi government of a 'deny, distract, lie, and justify' (DDLJ) policy regarding China, alleging territorial setbacks and misplaced economic priorities.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, in his meeting with Chinese counterpart Dong Jun in Qingdao on June 26, proposed that India and China should solve the "complex issues" under a structured roadmap comprising steps to de-escalate tensions along the frontiers and rejuvenate the existing mechanism to demarcate the borders.
The sources have said that patrolling will begin at these points once the disengagement that began last week is completed and both sides will move their respective troops and dismantle temporary structures.
In the June 16 advisory, the US urged its citizens to exercise "increased caution" due to crime and rape, and advised them not to travel to certain parts of central and eastern parts of the country due to terrorism.
Over 68,000 Army soldiers, around 90 tanks and other weapon systems were airlifted by the Indian Air Force to eastern Ladakh from across the country for rapid deployment along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) after the deadly clashes in the Galwan Valley, top sources in defence and security establishment said.
India and China have implemented a pact on patrolling in Depsang and Demchok along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, as per agreed modalities and timelines. The agreement was reached on October 21 and includes provisions for disengagement and patrolling in the last two friction points in the region. The pact has been effected and implemented as agreed, with both sides resuming patrolling activities and grazing, where applicable, as per longstanding practice before the friction began. The terms of the disengagement agreements reached prior to the latest pact continue to hold in relevant areas in eastern Ladakh. The agreement applies mutually to both sides and is without prejudice to India's positions on the LAC or boundary lines. India and China are each carrying out one round of patrolling in Depsang and Demchok, but they have maintained their deployment of troops along the LAC. The focus now is on de-escalation of the overall situation. The agreement was endorsed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in a meeting in Kazan, Russia, signaling attempts to normalize ties.
We hope that the two sides will work in concerted efforts to achieve the goal, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said
The Indian Army has built infrastructure to house 450 tanks and over 22,000 troops in the Eastern Ladakh sector.
The Defence Ministry said his tenure will be remembered for the 'resolute reply' to the Northern adversary in Eastern Ladakh and for a determined push towards self-reliance in defence besides embracing niche and disruptive technologies to fight future wars.
Foreign policy expert C Raja Mohan has said that the recent disengagement of troops with China in eastern Ladakh has given a small opening to India, but the "big issues" remain. He also stressed the importance of strengthening India's ties with the US for technological and economic growth.
The Union Budget 2025-26 had allocated Rs 2,33,210.68 crore (BE) to the ministry helmed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
India and China have announced a series of measures aimed at improving their relationship, including maintaining peace along the border, reopening border trade, and resuming direct flights.
Indian graziers were stopped by Chinese troops from moving ahead near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Demchok region of eastern Ladakh over a week ago, people familiar with the development said on Monday.
It was the second time in the last three days that India asserted that the relationship with China depends on the resolution of the pending issues in eastern Ladakh.
India is preparing to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet, after a three-year hiatus. The decision comes as part of efforts to improve relations between India and China, which have been strained since a military standoff in 2020. The two countries have also agreed in principle to resume flight services between them.
If China is accommodating regarding Depsang and Demchok, a resolution of the Sino-India territorial dispute in Eastern Ladakh could be possible.
The Indian Army started bringing the T-90 Bhishma and T-72 Ajay tanks along with the BMP series Infantry Combat Vehicles from the deserts and plains in a big way to these high altitude locations from last year with the beginning of the Operation Snow Leopard to counter the Chinese aggression in eastern Ladakh last summer.
Above-normal cold wave days are expected in some areas of central India, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar during January 2026.
Lieutenant General Hitesh Bhalla, General Officer Commanding, Fire and Fury Corps visited forward posts of the Siachen Brigade in eastern Ladakh near Demchok to review operational preparedness on Wednesday, July 31, 2024.
India on Wednesday outright rejected China's attempts to rename some places in Arunachal Pradesh, saying such 'preposterous' attempts will not alter the 'undeniable' reality that the state 'was, is, and will' always remain an integral part of India.
In their first structured bilateral talks in nearly five years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping Wednesday agreed that India and China can have a 'peaceful and stable' relationship by displaying maturity and mutual respect and endorsed the pact on the resolution of the dragging eastern Ladakh border row.
The BRO has constructed a 52-km long black-topped road through Umlingla Pass, bettering the previous record of a road in Bolivia connecting to its volcano Uturuncu at 18,953 ft, the ministry's statement noted.
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Monday emphasised the need to counter terrorism in all its forms for overall regional peace and stability during a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing.
India has announced the resumption of tourist visas for Chinese nationals, signaling an effort to improve bilateral relations following border tensions.
Rezang La is the site of an epic battle where Indian troops bravely fought the Chinese soldiers in 1962.
