New Delhi: An Indian defense official said on Wednesday that India and China have completed the withdrawal of their forces from two confrontation points on their disputed border in the Himalayan region as planned.
The two nuclear-armed neighbors reached an agreement last week on conducting border patrols in the Indian province of Ladakh to end the four-year military standoff, paving the way for improved bilateral political and trade relations.
The Indian official said that the disengagement process that began last week has been completed, and the process is being verified Reuters.
He added that the soldiers will exchange sweets as a goodwill gesture on Thursday and will begin their patrols on the border shortly after commanders on the ground finish the procedures.
There was no immediate comment from Beijing regarding the withdrawal of troops.
The mostly undemarcated border, about 4,000 kilometers long and running along the Himalayas, has been a source of tension between the world’s two most populous countries for decades and led to a short but bloody war in 1962.
Four years ago, 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese soldiers were killed during border clashes. The two sides then stopped patrolling at several points on the border in Ladakh to avoid new confrontations, while moving tens of thousands of fresh troops and military equipment near the frozen mountainous region.
They later withdrew their forces from five confrontation points, but the last such withdrawal occurred more than two years ago.
Days after the two countries reached their new border agreement, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held their first formal talks in five years on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Russia and agreed to strengthen communications and resolve disputes to help improve relations. .
The improvement is expected to strengthen economic ties damaged by border tensions, although Indian officials said New Delhi would move cautiously in light of the accumulated trust deficit.