NEW DELHI — India and China have successfully repositioned the majority of their frontline troops away from a contested area along their border in the northern Himalayas, as reported by India’s defense minister on Thursday. This development comes approximately ten days after the two nations reached a new agreement regarding military patrols, which seeks to resolve a prolonged impasse that has strained bilateral relations for four years.

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh announced that the “disengagement process” of Indian and Chinese forces near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh is “almost complete.” The LAC is the demarcation that distinguishes the territories controlled by China and India, stretching from Ladakh in the west to Arunachal Pradesh in the east, the latter of which China claims entirely. The two countries previously engaged in a fatal conflict over this border in 1962.

Relations between India and China soured in July 2020 following a military confrontation that resulted in the deaths of at least 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese personnel, leading to a lengthy standoff. Tens of thousands of troops, along with heavy artillery, tanks, and aircraft, were deployed in close proximity to each other in the treacherous mountainous terrain.

Earlier this month, the two neighboring countries announced a new border agreement intended to bring an end to the standoff, coinciding with a meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping during the recent BRICS summit in Russia, marking their first bilateral discussions in five years.

While it remains unclear how far the troops have been moved back or if this agreement will result in a reduction of overall military presence along the border, Singh expressed optimism about moving beyond mere disengagement. “Our efforts will be to take the matter beyond disengagement; but for that, we will have to wait a little longer,” he stated.

Zhang Xiaogang, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Defense, indicated that the frontline troops are “making progress in implementing the resolutions in an orderly manner.” The recent pact mandated the withdrawal of troops from the last two locations along the border where tensions were especially high. Following the violent clash in 2020, forces were positioned in what military leaders referred to as “eyeball to eyeball” standoffs at several sites. Many of these issues were addressed through previous military and diplomatic discussions that established buffer zones.

Challenges in negotiating troop withdrawals from the Depsang and Demchok regions persisted until the agreement reached on October 21. Lt. Gen. D.S. Hooda, who headed the Indian military’s Northern Command from 2014 to 2016, remarked, “It is a positive move,” emphasizing the severe mistrust that has characterized relations between the two countries and the collapse of earlier confidence-building measures. He referred to the current developments as a promising start but cautioned that returning to pre-2020 positions will take time. “It does not mean everything is going to be as normal as it existed earlier. We have to re-establish traditional patrolling and also the buffer zones need to be sorted out,” he explained.

Moreover, the border standoff has also had adverse effects on trade relations, with India ceasing Chinese investments and placing a ban on major projects.