Don’t test India’s patience, Army chief warns China
NEW DELHI: In a blunt message to China in the midst of a lingering border standoff in eastern Ladakh, army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane on Friday said that India was committed to resolving the situation along the contested Line of Actual Control (LAC) through talks, but no one should test India’s patience.
The border standoff is in its ninth month, with multiple rounds on military and diplomatic talks failing to break the deadlock. “We are committed to resolving disputes through talks and political efforts. However, no one should make the mistake of testing India’s patience,” Naravane said during his customary Army Day address at a parade in Delhi Cantt, where the force put up a display of its military might including the maiden demonstration of an underdevelopment drone swarming capability.
The army chief added that India had given a fitting response to the [Chinese] conspiracy to unilaterally change the status quo in the Ladakh theatre, where the Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have deployed more than 100,000 combat-ready soldiers and advanced weaponry.
He also assured the country that the sacrifice of the Indian soldiers killed in the Galwan valley on June 15, 2020 would not go in vain -- the Chinese PLA also suffered heavy casualties in the brawl but Beijing has kept the figures under wraps. Naravane said the morale of soldiers deployed in forward areas in the Ladakh sector was higher than the mountains they were defending despite the extreme weather conditions. He said India will continue with its efforts to resolve the prevailing situation on the basis of principles of “mutual and equal security”.
The army chief has conveyed to China unequivocally that
India is prepared for any eventuality, said former Northern Army commander Lieutenant General BS Jaswal (retd). “The message is clear --- if push comes to shove, India will take the necessary actions in the Ladakh sector,” Jaswal added.
In a separate message published on army day, Naravane said the Indian Army has been “swift and decisive” in its response to counter the PLA’S attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo on LAC.
Naravane, in a media briefing on January 12, said the army was prepared to hold ground in eastern Ladakh “for as long as it takes” to achieve national objectives in case the ongoing military and diplomatic talks with China.