Army chief briefs Rajnath on LAC, proposed disengagement

IN THE MEETING, THE ARMY CHIEF APPRISED THE MINISTER OF THE CRITICAL PURCHASES THAT THE ARMY NEEDS TO MAKE IN CASE THE BORDER STANDOFF CARRIES ON FOR A LONGER DURATION

NEW DELHI: Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane on Friday briefed defence minister Rajnath Singh on the latest developments along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the immediate requirements of the army if the India-china border standoff is long-drawn, and the proposed disengagement process to cool tensions at the LAC, people familiar with the matter said, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

In the hour-long meeting at Singh’s residence, the army chief, who returned on Thursday from his two-day visit to eastern Ladakh, apprised the minister of the critical purchases that the army needs to make in case the border standoff carries on for a longer duration, said of the persons cited above.

Singh returned on Thursday night from a four-day visit to Moscow, where he discussed the time delivery of military equipment including the S-400 air defence missile system from Russia.

The army chief briefed the minister on Indian Army positions in eastern Ladakh and how the force was prepared to deal with any eventuality, said the second official.

“The army chief’s briefing to the defence minister would have addressed issues of operational readiness at the LAC, additional inductions of troops, and acquisitions that would require extraordinary or fast track processes to make up critical systems and related aspects,” said former army vice chief Lieutenant General AS Lamba (retd).

This will enable a comprehensive approach for handling any long haul situation before de-escalation, or lesser contingencies for which the Indian Army is always prepared, Lamba added.

During his visit to Ladakh, top officials briefed Naravane on the army’s preparations and ability to respond to threatening actions by China’s People’s Liberation

Army (PLA).

The security review of the Ladakh sector, where tensions rose sharply after 20 Indian and an unspecified number of Chinese soldiers were killed in a clash in Galwan Valley on June 15, saw the chief tour forward army bases at Durbuk and Chushul, interact with commanders on ground and undertake aerial surveys of the army’s deployments in sensitive sectors.

The sectors where Indian soldiers hold forward positions along the LAC include Depsang, Gogra Post-hot Springs, Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Demchok and Chumar, and military negotiations for disengagement in some of these areas are in progress.

The army chief briefed the minister at a time China has not halted — and instead ramped up — its military activity along LAC in Galwan Valley, with a concentration of soldiers, military vehicles, earth-moving machinery, and erection of structures, including near the same point where Indian and Chinese troops clashed on June 15.

The Chinese buildup in other areas along the LAC including Depsang, Gogra Post-hot Springs and Pangong Tso, hasn’t thinned either.