“The eyeball-to-eyeball contact has ended,” an Indian defence source said, referring to the latest agreement, although both countries still have thousands of soldiers lined up along the de factor border, known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

“The forces have disengaged. They have not been de-inducted.”

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China test fires missile in Xinjiang ahead of India-US military drills near Himalayan border

China test fires missile in Xinjiang ahead of India-US military drills near Himalayan border

“This is the first step towards a calmer LAC,” the source said, declining to be named as they are not authorised to speak to the media.

China’s defence ministry said on Friday that troops from both sides had started to disengage in a “synchronised and planned” manner.

“This is conducive to maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas,” the ministry said.

India and China share an undemarcated 3,800km-long (2,360 mile-long) border, where their troops previously adhered to long-standing protocols to avoid the use of any firearms on the frontier.

There have been 16 rounds of meetings between senior military commanders from both countries since June 2020 when Indian and Chinese troops clashed in the Galwan area of Ladakh.

India carries out major works along contested border with China

At least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers were killed in hand-to-hand fighting, leading to a sharp escalation in tensions between the Asian giants.

India then moved some 50,000 troops along contested areas in Ladakh to match Chinese deployments, some of them at altitudes of over 4,572 metres (15,000 feet), where scarce oxygen and freezing winter temperatures can be life-threatening.

Chinese troops dismantled dozens of structures and moved vehicles to empty out entire camps from the banks of the Pangong Tso lake in Ladakh in February 2021, as part of an agreement by both countries to pull back their soldiers, some of whom were deployed in proximity to each other.