LEH: In the backdrop of the nearly four-year border row with China in eastern Ladakh, Army Chief General Manoj Pande on Friday reviewed the security situation in the union territory, and took a stock of the operational preparedness in the sensitive border region.
The Chief of Army Staff, General Manoj Pande, visited the Fire and Fury Corps here on Friday and obtained a first-hand review of the situation in Ladakh.
He also reviewed the operational preparedness of his troops in Ladakh, an official said. Upon his arrival here, General Manoj Pande was received by Fire and Fury Corps commander Lieutenant General Rashim Bali and other officers of the Fire and Fury Corps.
The Army Chief obtained a review of the on the prevailing situation and ongoing Operational Preparedness by the Army Commanders.
He also interacted with the troops there and lauded them for their commitment and dedication to duty, as their guard the region, bordered by China and Pakistan on the either sides.
Additional Directorate General of Public Information of Indian Army said that General Manoj Pande, Chief of the Army Staff visited the Fire and Fury Corps to review the security situation & preparedness in Ladakh.
“#COAS was given a detailed update by the Commanders on the prevailing situation and ongoing Operational Preparedness. #COAS complimented the Officers and the troops for their professionalism, unwavering commitment & dedication to duty,” it said on social media platform X.
The Indian and Chinese militaries have been locked in a standoff along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh since May 2020 and a full resolution of the border row has not yet been achieved though the two sides have disengaged from a number of friction points.
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 nosedived significantly following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades. India has been maintaining that its ties with China cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areas.
The two sides have so far held 21 rounds of corps commanders-level talks to resolve the standoff.
According to the Chinese military, the two sides so far agreed to disengage from four points, namely the Galwan Valley, the Pangong Lake, Hot Springs, and Jianan Daban (Gogra).
India is pressing the PLA to disengage from the Depsang and Demchok areas, maintaining that there cannot be restoration of normalcy in its relations with China as long as the state of the borders remains abnormal.
The Army Chief General Manoj Pande had recently 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.
“We are prepared in every manner. Our levels of operational readiness, and 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 had said, when 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.
