Indian Army Chief Gen. Manoj Mukund Naravane on Tuesday visited Siachen and eastern Ladakh to review frontline troops’ operational readiness, as India continues to be engaged in a military standoff with China along their shared border.
According to an official statement, the general “interacted with the troops & complimented them for their steadfastness and high morale despite being deployed in some of the harshest terrain, altitude and weather conditions.” He was later briefed by Lt. Gen. PGK Menon about the prevailing security situation and operational preparedness. Naravane is scheduled to return to the national capital on Wednesday.
Tuesday’s trip was the top general’s first visit to the region after the Indian and Chinese sides completed disengagement at Pangong Tso in February when both countries withdrew their forward-deployed troops and military hardware from strategic points in the north and south banks of the lake. Though the hard-won de-escalation had triggered hopes of a speedy resolution to the situation, the disengagement process has been stalled due to China’s hesitation to pull back its troops from other friction points of Hot Springs, Gogra, and Demchok and Depsang plains.
Though both nations have committed to engaging in dialogue, the 11th round of Corps Commander level talks held on April 9 reportedly failed to resolve differences between the two sides. Following the meeting, Beijing reiterated its willingness to maintain diplomatic communications with India, saying: “China hopes the Indian side can cherish the positive trend of de-escalation in the region and uphold the consensus reached by previous meetings, and work together with China to safeguard peace and tranquillity in the area.”
Despite talks of peace, however, local reports suggest that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has now set up a combined air defence system somewhere close to the Indian border. Quoting the PLA Daily, the Hindustan Times on Tuesday said that the new joint system is part of the Chinese western theatre command (WTC) under which the army’s air defence units were (for the first time) inducted in its air force command chain.
The new formation is also in line with President Xi Jinping’s January military training order, which called for an increased focus on actual combat training to raise combat readiness, joint command and joint specialised training, new equipment, and force training, and operational system of systems integration training.”
Indian Army Chief Visits Siachen and Eastern Ladakh Amid China’s Stalled Disengagement
The disengagement process has been stalled due to China’s hesitation to pull back its troops from other friction points of Hot Springs, Gogra, and Demchok and Depsang plains.
April 28, 2021
SOURCE: TOI