India and China troops on Thursday exchanged sweets at various points on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) as part of the festive fervour on the Diwali day.
This has happened a day after India and China completed disengagement of troops from both the friction points in the two Demchok and Depsang Plains of the eastern Ladakh that bring much-needed fresh thawing to the Sino-Indian ties.
"Sweets exchange between members of the troops of India and China took place at several border points along the LAC on the occasion of Diwali," an Army source told PTI earlier in the day.
The sources report that the two armies carried out the exercise across all five Border Personnel Meeting (BPM) points along the LAC including Bum La and Wacha/Kibithu in Arunachal Pradesh, Chushul-Moldo and Daulat Beg Oldi in Ladakh, and Nathu La in Sikkim among many other places.
On Wednesday, an Army source said that troops of both sides had completed the disengagement at the two friction points and patrolling would commence soon at these points.
The verification process after the disengagement was in progress and patrolling modalities were to be decided between ground commanders, the source said then.
"Talks will continue at the local commander level," the Army source added.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said here on October 21 that an agreement has been finalized between India and China following negotiations over the past several weeks, which will lead to a resolution of the issues that arose in 2020.
An agreement on patrolling and disengagement of troops along the LAC in eastern Ladakh has been firmed up in a breakthrough that will bring an end to the over four-year-long standoff.
The development marks a new milestone in the quest to reduce tensions along the LAC in eastern Ladakh since the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 marked the most serious military confrontation between the two sides in decades.
Ties between the two Asian giants had nosedived following the clash.
As a time-honoured practice, Indian and Chinese troops have exchanged sweets and greetings at several border posts along the LAC, including in eastern Ladakh, to mark festivals and other important occasions.
Sources had earlier said that the areas and patrolling status were expected to be moved back to the pre-April 2020 level.
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