Doval and Wang, who are designated Special Representatives’ on Sino-India boundary question, held a telephonic conversation on Sunday during which they had a “frank and in-depth exchange” of views and agreed that a “complete disengagement” of troops at the “earliest” was necessary for full restoration of peace in the border areas, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Monday.

Government sources said Chinese troops removed tents and are pulling back by up to 1.5 km from the area around patrolling point 14 in the Galwan Valley besides starting rearward movement of vehicles and troops in Hot Springs and Gogra.

There were reports that Chinese troops have also removed some tents from areas around Finger 4 in Pangong Tso. However, the sources said a clear picture will emerge only after a thorough verification is carried out.

Sources said the disengagement is taking place as per a decision arrived at during the military talks on June 30 that both sides will create a minimum buffer zone of 3 km in the area around Galwan river, and Indian troops are also moving accordingly.

The Indian Army will carry out a thorough verification of the Chinese pull back, said a source.

In the talks, Doval and Wang re-affirmed that both sides should “strictly respect” and observe the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and should not take any unilateral action to alter the status quo, the MEA said.

The two special representatives agreed to continue their conversations to ensure “full and enduring restoration” of peace and tranquillity in the India-China border areas.

They also emphasised on not allowing differences to become disputes between the two countries, government sources said.

In Beijing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry also issued a statement which said that Wang and Doval reached “positive common understandings” over easing the current border situation, and underlined the need to act promptly on the consensus reached by their military commanders to complete the disengagement of the front-line troops at the LAC as soon as possible.

It was the first time that Doval and Wang held talks during the ongoing stand-off. The conversation is learnt to have lasted for around two hours.

Government sources said India is strictly monitoring whether China was withdrawing its troops from the friction points, adding that global support to New Delhi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s strong message during his visit to Ladakh last week may have had some impact on Beijing agreeing to move back its army.

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Colonel B Santosh Babu of the Bihar regiment, Havildar Palani and Sepoy Ojha laid down their lives for India, the army confirmed earlier on Tuesday. “17 Indian troops who were critically injured in the line of duty at the stand-off location and exposed to sub-zero temperatures in the high altitude terrain have succumbed to their injuries. Indian Army is firmly committed to protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the nation,” the army’s fresh statement said on Tuesday evening.

The statement opened by saying Indian and Chinese troops “have disengaged” at the Galwan area where they earlier clashed on the night of June 15/16, indicating that they do not expect any fresh violence in the area.

India said the clash arose from “an attempt by the Chinese side to unilaterally change the status quo” on the border. “India is very clear that all its activities are always within the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control. We expect the same of the Chinese side,” said foreign ministry spokesperson Anurag Shrivastava.

The clash took place just as Chinese troops were getting ready to move away from a location per an agreement that was part of recent talks between the two sides to defuse tension. The Colonel was reportedly assaulted with stones and Indian soldiers retaliated, which led to close unarmed combat for several hours. The soldiers disengaged after midnight.

Beijing, in an aggressive statement, accused India of crossing the border, “attacking Chinese personnel”. China’s Foreign Ministry was quoted by Reuters as saying India should not take unilateral actions or stir up trouble.

The only admission of casualties on the Chinese side came from the editor of their government mouthpiece Global Times. “Based on what I know, Chinese side also suffered casualties in the Galwan Valley physical clash. I want to tell the Indian side, don’t be arrogant and misread China’s restraint as being weak. China doesn’t want to have a clash with India, but we don’t fear it,” tweeted Hu Xijin, Editor-in-Chief of Global

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Indian army said there were casualties on both sides. All the deaths are from thrown stones and rods used by soldiers. The army did not comment on this.

The India China border row seems to have turned from bad to worse even as army delegations from India and China held discussions along the LAC to break the stalemate.

The Indian army suffered multiple casualties, including that of an officer, in a “violent face off” with the PLA on Monday night in eastern Ladakh, the army said in a statement. It added that there were casualties on both sides.

Commanding Officer of the Indian Army and two soldiers were  killed in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on Monday night during a violent faceoff with the Chinese troops, the Army said. They said senior military officials of the two sides are holding a meeting in Galwan Valley to defuse tension. A report in China’s state-owned Global Times said the Chinese army suffered five casualties.

While the exact nature of the violent confrontation is not known yet, sources said no firearms were used. “During the de-escalation process underway in the Galwan Valley, a violent face-off took place yesterday night with casualties on both sides. The loss of lives on the Indian side includes an officer and two soldiers. Senior military officials of the two sides are currently meeting at the venue to defuse the situation,” the Army said

A statement released by the Indian Army said the casualties were suffered on Monday night at Ladakh’s Galwan Valley and that a meeting is underway between senior officials of both militaries to d the A statement released by the Indian Army on Tuesday said the casualties were suffered on Monday night and that a meeting is underway between senior officials of both militaries to defuse the situation. “During the de-escalation process underway in the Galwan Valley, a violent face-off took place yesterday night with casualties. The loss of lives on the Indian side includes an officer and two soldiers. Senior military officials of the two sides are currently meeting at the venue to defuse the situation,”

Indian and Chinese troops have been involved in border skirmishes in Sikkim and Ladakh recently. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said he was not aware of any incident on the border with India.

A large number of Indian and Chinese troops were engaged in an eyeball-to-eyeball situation in Galwan Valley for the last five weeks. The incident comes days after Indian Army Chief Gen MM Naravane said both sides have begun disengaging from Galwan Valley.

The two armies have since thinned out some forces in a positive signal but soldiers, tanks and other armoured carriers remained heavily deployed in the high-altitude region, an official had said.

India and China fought a brief border war in 1962 and have not been able to settle their border despite two decades of talks. Both claim thousands of kilometres of territory and patrols along the undemarcated Line of Actual Control – the de-facto border – often run into each other, leading to tensions.

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