India needs ‘verification on ground’ of troop disengagement with China

India and China are making progress on ending a months-long military face-off at their disputed Himalayan border, the Indian Army said on Thursday. However, it added that the process needs verification on the ground.

New Delhi says Chinese troops have breached the Line of Actual Control, the poorly defined border in the western Himalayas, and set up defense structures, while Beijing insists it is operating on its side of the de facto border. Last month, a clash erupted in the high altitude Galwan Valley in the Ladakh region in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed. China took an unspecified number of casualties.

The two sides have held several rounds of talks to defuse the crisis. China has since thinned out from the Galwan Valley and on Tuesday top military commanders on both sides discussed the next steps in the pullback, the Indian military said.

“The senior commanders reviewed the progress on implementation of the first phase of disengagement and discussed further steps to ensure complete disengagement,” Reuters quoted Indian Army spokesman Colonel Aman Anand as saying. “The two sides remain committed to the objective of complete disengagement. This process is intricate and requires constant verification.” Beijing said on Wednesday there had been progress in defusing the border crisis and urged the Indian side to maintain peace.