Abid Bashir
Srinagar (NVI): Army chief General MM Naravane today said that the situation along LAC in Eastern Ladakh is “slightly tense”, but the Indian Army has taken ample precautionary steps to thwart any further misadventure by Chinese troops and safeguard India’s territorial integrity in the region.
“The situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is slightly tense but all the precautions for the safety and security have been taken to ensure that our (India’s) integrity remains safeguarded,” the Army Chief said.
“Our (Indian) officers and soldiers are the finest in the world and will make the entire nation proud,” he added.
Gen. Naravane is on a two-day visit to Ladakh since yesterday to review the operational preparedness in the wake of fresh incursion attempts by the Chinese Army, in a bid to change status quo at Pangong Tso lake.
Speaking to a selected group of reporters in Leh, the Army chief said that that the situation has been tense for the last two to three months in Eastern Ladakh but India has been engaging with China both at military and diplomatic levels. “The engagement will continue in future to pacify the current situation at (LAC),” he said.
Naravane said that the “morale of jawans is high and they are ready to deal with all challenges that may arise.”
He also said that through the medium of talks, issues will be resolved and whatever the differences “We (India and China) have, will ensure that the status quo is not changed. We are able to safeguard our interests.”
Pertinently, the situation in Eastern Ladakh worsened in June this year after the Indian Army lost 20 soldiers including a Colonel level officer in a violent face-off in the Galwan Valley. Around 76 Indian soldiers were left injured during the bloody skirmishes with China’s PLA, during the first round of the de-escalation process in the area.
The last weekend witnessed fresh skirmishes along LAC in Eastern Ladakh as the Chinese troops made an attempt to change the status quo on the Southern Bank of Pangong Tso Lake along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) but it was thwarted by the Indian Army. The incident took place on the intervening night of last Saturday and Sunday.
On top of that, the Chinese troops again engaged in “provocative action” along the LAC on Monday, even as the ground commanders of the two sides were in discussions to de-escalate the situation. That brazen attempt too was thwarted by the alert Indian troops.
-ARK
