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Army chief Gen Naravane visits eastern Ladakh
New Delhi: Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane on Tuesday reviewed the army’s operational readiness in eastern Ladakh, where India and China have been locked in a standoff for nearly a year and are currently negotiating a withdrawal of frontline troops and weapons from friction points on the contested border, a senior official familiar with development said on
New Delhi: Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane on Tuesday reviewed the army’s operational readiness in eastern Ladakh, where India and China have been locked in a standoff for nearly a year and are currently negotiating a withdrawal of frontline troops and weapons from friction points on the contested border, a senior official familiar with development said on.
This is his first visit to eastern Ladakh after the Indian and Chinese armies wrapped up the disengagement process in the Pangong Tso sector in February, with both sides pulling back forward-deployed troops, tanks, infantry, combat vehicles, and artillery guns from strategic heights where rival soldiers last year fired shots for the first time at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) after 45 years.
The disengagement process between the two armies has hit a wall at other friction points as a result of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) unexpected reluctance to pull back its forward deployed troops from Hot Springs, Gogra, and Depsang.
The army chief will visit forward areas, including the Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) sector, near the LAC on Wednesday, he said. The army chief also visited Siachen Glacier, where two soldiers were killed in an avalanche on April 25.
Naravane’s visit to India’s farthest frontiers comes at a time when the country is reeling under the Covid crisis and the military is at the forefront of providing relief.
“Gen Naravane interacted with the troops and complimented them for their steadfastness and high morale, while being deployed in some of the harshest terrain, altitude and weather conditions,” the army said in a statement. Lieutenant General PGK Menon, commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps and the man leading the military dialogue with China, briefed the army chief on the prevailing security situation in the sensitive sector.
“As far as internal Covid situation is concerned, it should not affect the territorial integrity of the country for which the armed forces have to remain prepared all throughout. It warrants that the army chief reviews operational plans on ground and also boosts the morale of the troops,” said former Northern Army commander Lieutenant General BS Jaswal (retd).
The swift pace of disengagement in the Pangong Tso area in February -- it began and ended in less than 10 days -- raised hopes of positive outcomes at the remaining flashpoints on the LAC.
But the initial optimism appears to have waned after the latest 11th round of military talks on April 9, during which the PLA demonstrated a lack of commitment to restore the status quo of April 2020.
Disengagement of frontline troops on the LAC is the first crucial step to restore peace and tranquillity in eastern Ladakh. Until that happens, there is no question of de-escalation of the border conflict and the eventual de-induction of rival soldiers in the sensitive theatre.
Days after the mutual withdrawal of frontline troops and weapons from the Pangong Tso heights in February, Naravane cautioned that the disengagement process with China would be a long-drawn one.
He described disengagement as a “win-win situation” for both sides but added that de-escalation of conflict and de-induction of rival forces was “still a long way to go”.
