India and China disengage troops from most part of Ladakh

New Delhi : Indian and Chinese troops have started to disengage in most part of the eastern Ladakh ahead of next round of military talks scheduled for Wednesday, said a report.

The news report quoted sources and claimed that a "significant" number of Chinese troops have withdrawn. Except the Finger region in Pangong Tso, Chinese troops have started pulling back two to three km, they say. Indian troops have also pulled back a section of its troops from the area.

Talks between the two armies are to be held this week at multiple locations including Patrolling point 14 (Galwan area), Patrolling point 15, and Hot Springs, ANI quoted government sources as saying.

On Monday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said India wants a resolution of the decades-old border issue with China "as soon as possible". He described as "positive" last week's high-level military dialogue between the two sides on the face-off in eastern Ladakh.

Indian officers on Saturday held a meeting with the Chinese officials to defuse the border tension.

A day after the talks, Indian government announced that the talks were positive and both the sides are now looking for a border resolution soon. The Chinese foreign ministry, in a statement, said both the countries had agreed to work to maintain peace along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and resolve the standoff through talks.

Tension across LAC escalated after reports of skirmishes between soldiers in the Pangong Lake region on May 5 and May 6.