STATE TIMES NEWS
New Delhi: In the backdrop of the nearly four-year border row with China in eastern Ladakh, Army Chief General Manoj Pande on Wednesday said the Indian Army’s preparedness levels are of a “very high order” and the force is keeping a “very close watch” on developments across the border.
In response to questions asked during a panel discussion at Times Now Summit here, General Pande also said he believed that it was “only through talks” that one can find resolution of the balance issues that are currently at hand.
The eastern Ladakh border standoff erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong Lake area.
The ties between the two countries nose-dived significantly following the clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.
“We are prepared in every manner. Our levels of operational readiness, operational preparedness is of a very high order. In terms of our deployments along the entire length of 3,488 km (LAC) of our borders, I would say is both robust as well as balance. We have also ensured that we have adequate reserves in terms of dealing with contingencies… We have our response mechanism firmly in place,” General Pande said.
He was asked how well is the Indian Army prepared in the backdrop of the eastern Ladakh border standoff.
“We have talks at two levels. One is at the military level, at the level of our corps commanders, we have had 21 rounds of talks. At the diplomatic level, where we have the mechanism, WMCC (Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs,” he said, adding several rounds of WMCC talks have taken place post the event of mid-2020.
The 28th meeting of WMCC was held on November 30, 2023.
“It is my belief that only through talks you will find resolution of the balance issues that are currently at hand. While these talks are progressing, we are also focusing on capability development along our northern borders, of which technology infusion, modernisation are important,” the Army chief said.
General Pande said the Army is also focusing on infrastructure development and “I believe, we are moving in the right direction”.
“Our preparedness levels are of a very high order and we are keeping a very close watch on developments and what is happening across the border,” he added.
Asked to quantify the threat perception from China, General Pande said from time to time “we keep reviewing threats”. So, threat during the winter months may be slightly different from what it may be during the summer months, he added.
“Just as our western adversary, with respect to our northern adversary, I would only say, our preparedness level is of a very high order,” the Army chief asserted.
On the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, he underlined the Army formations deployed in the UT, both in hinterland and along the LoC in counter-infiltration grid. “There are attempts at infiltration, which are continuing both in the Valley region as to the south of the Pir Panjal region. But we have a very robust and effective counter-infiltration grid which has proven successful,” he said.