Amid standoff, army chief in Leh

JAMMU: Close on the heels of Chinese incursion at Pangong Lake onAugust15,armychiefGeneral Bipin Rawat on Sunday arrived in Leh on a three-day visit to take stock of the situation in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir.

PresidentRamNathKovindis scheduled to arrive in the border town on Monday.

“ThearmychiefarrivedinLeh onSundayandthePresidentwill attend a function of Ladakh Scouts on Monday,” said a top officer of the Udhampur-based Northern Command.

Northern army commander LtGenDevrajAnbuandothertop army commanders had reached Leh to receive the army chief.

Whilethetopofficerdescribed the army chief’s visit as a routine exercise, defence sources said that following Chinese incursionandsubsequentaction bytheIndiantroopsonAugust15, the army chief shall be taking stock of the situation from groundzero.TheChinesetroops had clashed with Indian troops and pelted stones at them near Pangong Lake on August 15.

Security experts expressed concerns over the stone-pelting incidentbetweenthetwoarmies evenasthetwosideswerestrictly adhering to banner drills and other border mechanisms to defuse tension and resolving incursions. General Rawat will also take stock of the operational preparednessoftheIndianarmy at the Line of Actual Control (LAC).