PLA ramps up drills in Arunachal sector

NEW DELHI: China has ramped up the scale and duration of its military drills across the contested border in Arunachal Pradesh after a standoff with India erupted along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Ladakh sector, and the reserve formations mobilised by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) last year are still deployed there, Eastern

Army commander Lieutenant General Manoj Pande said on Tuesday.

Pande said both sides were also attempting to scale up infrastructure near the LAC in the eastern sector. “Annual training exercises by PLA have increased in their depth areas. Reserve formations mobilised (after the Ladakh standoff began in May 2020) still remain in training areas in the depth,” Pande said, while briefing reporters on the

LAC situation in the east.

He said the focus of PLA’S exercises was on integrated operations by its forces. He added that the Indian army had noted the developments across the LAC and taken counter measures to deal with any contingency.

His comments came days after the 13th round of military talks between India and China to cool tensions in Ladakh reached an impasse on October 10, with

PLA not agreeing to suggestions made by the Indian Army.

The Asapila sector in Arunachal Pradesh was among the areas where the Indian Army observed infrastructure development by PLA close to LAC, and it had led to a corresponding increase in troop deployment there, Pande said.

He said the army’s new mountain strike corps, raised to counter the Chinese threat in the east, is fully operational now.