On Thursday, October 31, the Chinese military reported that Indian and Chinese troops are “making progress” in implementing the recent agreement to disengage from friction points along the eastern Ladakh border, though they declined to confirm reports of completed disengagement.

Commenting for the first time since the October 21 disengagement agreement, Ministry of National Defence spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang informed media that “China and India have reached resolutions on the issues concerning the border areas through diplomatic and military channels,” The Indian Express reported.

He said that “frontline troops of the two militaries are making progress in implementing resolutions in an orderly manner,” reiterating statements from China’s Foreign Ministry a day prior.

However, Zhang declined to verify reports suggesting that Indian and Chinese troops had fully disengaged at friction points in Demchok and the Depsang Plains, where patrolling is expected to resume soon.

“I have no more information to offer,” Col. Zhang stated. Regarding the bilateral disengagement, he highlighted that President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had met on the sidelines of the recent BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia.

“Both sides have agreed that China and India should view and handle the bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term perspective and make sure that the differences on specific issues will not affect the overall relationship,” Zhang added.