China-India border tension: satellite images show PLA emptying military camps at Himalayan flashpoint

Chinese troops are filmed dismantling bunkers and tents, and then tanks, soldiers and vehicles seen moving out as part of disengagement

Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told parliament both sides had agreed to pull back troops around Pangong Tso

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This photograph, provided by the Indian Army, purports to show Chinese troops dismantling their bunkers at Pangong Tso in Ladakh along the India-China border on Monday. China and India are pulling back frontline troops from disputed parts of their mountain border. Photo: Indian Army via AP

Published: 6:11pm, 17 Feb 2021Updated: 6:41pm, 17 Feb 2021

China has dismantled dozens of structures and moved vehicles to empty entire camps along a disputed Himalayan border where Indian and Chinese troops have been locked in a face-off since last summer, satellite images released on Wednesday show.

The nuclear-armed neighbours last week announced a plan to pull back troops, tanks and other equipment from the banks of Pangong Tso, a glacial lake in the Ladakh region, that became a flashpoint in the prolonged border dispute.

Revetments and equipment (top) and revetments and storage areas removed along an area known as Finger 6 at Pangong Tso, in satellite images provided by Maxar dated January 30 and February 16. Photos: Maxar Technologies/Reuters

Satellite imagery supplied by Maxar Technologies showing some areas on the northern bank of Pangong Tso from Tuesday reveal that several Chinese military camps, which could be seen there in late January, have been removed.

“Similar action is happening from our side also,” said an Indian official, who requested anonymity, in New Delhi.

Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told parliament both sides had agreed to pull back troops around Pangong Tso in “a phased, coordinated and verified manner”, after which military commanders would discuss ending the stand-off in other parts of the Ladakh frontier.