Chinese soldiers withdraw from disputed valley with India

Chinese troops have started to withdraw from the disputed valley with India in the Himalayas, the scene of a deadly shock between the two armies, an Indian military source announced on Monday.

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" The disengagement of the People's Liberation Army began according to the arrangements agreed during the meeting between the generals of the corps " of the two camps, this source told AFP.

On June 15, Indian and Chinese soldiers clashed in an extremely violent melee in the Galwan Valley, located in Ladakh (northern India). The two Asian giants have several border disputes in this desert at high altitude. The first deadly confrontation between their two armies in 45 years, the shock claimed the lives of 20 soldiers on the Indian side and caused an outbreak of Antichinese fever in India. Beijing has not disclosed the number of casualties in its ranks.

The two nuclear powers state that they are not seeking escalation and want a peaceful resolution of the crisis. Senior officers from both sides met several times to agree on a disengagement.

" Positive progress "

Chinese soldiers were " seen dismantling tents and structures " set up at one of the friction points in the Galwan Valley, the Indian military source said. In general, the Indian army has noted " backward movements of Chinese military vehicles " in several disputed places in the region. The source did not indicate whether Indian forces were making a similar withdrawal.

Read also: India-China tensions: the Indian Prime Minister on a surprise visit to Ladakh

Without going into details, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday " positive progress " towards military disengagement along the border. " We hope that the Indian side will follow the Chinese side to implement in practice the consensus reached by the two sides " with a view to " appeasing the situation in the border areas ," said Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson for Chinese diplomacy.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Indian national security adviser Ajit Doval spoke on the phone on Sunday. The two officials agreed to " complete as quickly as possible the ongoing disengagement process along the LAC ", the Line of Actual Control, which serves as a dividing line between the two countries in Ladakh, according to a Indian diplomacy said Monday. The two representatives " welcomed the progress made during the recent diplomatic and military meetings " and pledged to " continue the dialogue and consultations, " reported Chinese TV CCTV.