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Armed forces must keep their guard up in Ladakh: Bipin Rawat
Chief of defence staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat's said negotiations were on with China at the political, diplomatic and military levels to resolve the border row.
Chief of defence staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat on Friday said the Indian armed forces should stay prepared for any misadventure by the Chinese forces in eastern Ladakh and respond as needed.
“We have to keep our guard up, remain prepared and not take things lightly. We must also be prepared for any misadventure and respond accordingly. We have responded in the past and will do so in the future,” Rawat said.
His comments came during a seminar organised by the Global Counter Terrorism Council. Rawat said negotiations were on with China at the political, diplomatic and military levels to resolve the border row.
“This will take time and in a gradual manner we should be able to achieve status quo because if you do not achieve status quo and remain in this kind of position it could lead to misadventure at some time. Both nations understand that returning status quo is in the best interest of peace and tranquillity,” Rawat said.
The Indian and Chinese armies began negotiations to resolve the border row in eastern Ladakh exactly a year ago, but the two sides have only had limited success in hammering out an agreement for disengagement of rival soldiers deployed at friction points on the contested Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have held 11 rounds of talks between corps commander-ranked officers since June 6, 2020 to reduce tensions along the disputed border.
The only significant outcome of the military dialogue has been the disengagement of front-line troops and weaponry in the Pangong Tso sector in mid-February after the ninth round of talks.
“There is suspicion on both sides because while the other side has deployed their forces and created infrastructure, we are not lagging behind. We have also moved a large number of troops and resources. So some kind of suspicion is there on both sides as to what can happen. This will take time and in a gradual manner we should be able to achieve status quo,” Rawat said.
He said China had realised that Indian armed forces can’t be taken lightly.
“They are no longer the armed forces of 1962. This is a strong armed force and not a pushover. They will stand up to what they are worth. That is what has been realised. They (China) also have to create capacities and capabilities to deal with a strong military,” Rawat said.
IAF chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria said nothing had changed at the LAC after the February disengagement. He said China was building infrastructure on its side.
“We are aware what kind of Chinese assets are based where...They have spent a lot of energy in building infrastructure at many of their airfields and it is defensive in nature as they have analysed as to what all can be hit by us quickly in case the situation requires. They are looking at covering deficiencies and bringing in more efficiency in their air operations,” he said.
Bhadauria said the IAF was also building its capabilities in the sector.
“We are doing our own upgrades in exercises, sensors, weapons, new integrations…We are much more capable than what we were one year back. We have not maintained status quo on our capability,” the IAF chief added.
Both armies have 50,000 to 60,000 troops each in the Ladakh theatre and the deployments haven’t thinned after the disengagement in the Pangong Tso sector.
The Indian Army’s focus is on resolving outstanding problems with the PLA at Hot Springs, Gogra and Depsang, but the disengagement process has hit a wall as a result of the PLA’s reluctance to pull back its forward deployed troops and restore the status quo ante of April 2020, as previously reported by Hindustan Times.
