Explained: The significance of disengagement at Hot Springs, Gogra Post in India-China conflict

In a major breakthrough, the Indian and Chinese sides have started disengaging at Patrolling Point (15) in the Gogra-Hotspring region of eastern Ladakh. This comes after the armiess reached a consensus in the 16th round of the India-China Corps Commander level meet. As per PTI, there two armies are likely to set up a “buffer zone” or “no-patrolling” area at Patrolling Point 15 as they did in other friction points. The two armies said in a joint statement, “On 8 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 tranquillity in the border areas.” Tensions had been high between the two countries since 5 May, 2020, when Chinese troops, who were in the Tibetan plateau region for their yearly exercise, diverted to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, triggering a stand-off with India. What happened between India and China in the Gogra-Hotspring region? Why is the current disengagement significant? The 2020 conflict  Following the incursion by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) two years earlier, Patrolling Point 15 (PP15) in Hot Springs and PP17A near Gogra Post were among the four friction points between India and China, the other two being PP14 in Galwan Valley and the north bank of Pangong Tso.

The Chinese troops had crossed the LAC to enter these points including PP15 and PP17A, thus leading to a conflict with the Indian army in these areas.

PP15 in Hot Springs and PP17A near Gogra post are two of the 65 patrolling points in the Union Territory of Ladakh along the LAC. Besides disputes at these patrolling points, the violent clash at Galwan Valley in June 2020 led to the death of 20 Indian soldiers and at least 40 Chinese military personnel, as per Russian news agency TASS. [caption id=“attachment_11217381” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The violent clash at Galwan Valley in June 2020 led to the death of 20 Indian soldiers and several casualties on the Chinese side. PTI (Representational Image)[/caption] However, China has claimed that only four of its soldiers had died during the bloody skirmish two years ago. Significance of disengagement at Hot Springs and Gogra post The regions, PP15 and PP17A, are located in an area where India and China largely agree on the LAC alignment. After the 2020 ingress, there was a significant build-up of the Chinese troops and deployment of heavy weapons in Hotsprings-Gogra region, as per ThePrint.

The Indian Army had also moved its troops to the area.

The disengagement in the Hotsprings-Gogra region will de-escalate the border tension with China as it officially ends the eye-to-eye confrontation at all new friction points created by the PLA in 2020, Economic Times reported. In August last year, the Indian Army and China’s PLA had stopped “forward deployments” in Gogra (Patrolling Point 17 A) and returned to their “permanent bases”, The New Indian Express reported. The development had come after the 12th round of talks between the Corps Commanders of India and China held at Chushul Moldo meeting point in eastern Ladakh in 2021. In February that year, the two armies had completed disengagement in the Pangong Tso region. [caption id=“attachment_11217411” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] With the disengagement at PP15, the Indian and Chinese troops have withdrawn troops at all friction points. PTI (Representational Image)[/caption] Notably, the Depsang Plains on the LAC still remain a contentious issue between India and China, which predates the 2020 stand-off. The Chinese forces continue to block access to India’s traditional patrolling areas in Depsang Plains and Charding Nala regions, Indian Express reported. Depsang Plains falls under India’s Sub Sector North (SSN) and the LAC here is disputed like in other regions. 16th round of military talks The beginning of the disengagement comes on the heels of the 16th round of high-level military talks held in July this year at Chushul-Moldo border meeting point on the Indian side. According to the joint statement, the two sides had “…reaffirmed that the resolution of remaining issues would help in restoration of peace and tranquillity along the LAC (line of actual control) in the Western sector and enable progress in bilateral relations.” “In the interim, the two sides agreed to maintain the security and stability on the ground in the Western sector,” Hindustan Times quoted the statement as saying. After the talks in July, the round commanders of both sides chalked out the details of the withdrawal of the troops. “A thorough verification process to examine the implementation of the disengagement process will be carried out by the Indian Army at PP15”, a source told PTI. Modi-Xi bilateral meet? The disengagement from Gogra-Hotsprings area comes a week before the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Uzbekistan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to attend the event besides other world leaders.

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