Incidents at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) will continue to take place till India and China arrive at an agreement regarding the boundary, Army Chief General M M Naravane said here on Thursday. He also said the Army is keeping a tab on the situation in Afghanistan and likely threat perceptions to India.
Naravane’s observations about the LAC came in the backdrop of stand-offs still on at three points at the LAC in Eastern Ladakh since May last year. The intrusions’ attempt by China last year led to a bloody clash between the two armies in the Galwan valley in June. Twenty Indian army personnel including the commanding officer were killed in the brawl and more than 40 Chinese troopers were also killed. However, Beijing has, so far, not confirmed the number of casualties on its side.
Addressing a gathering at the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry here, Naravane said “We have an outstanding border issue. We are again well prepared to meet any misadventure that may occur as we have demonstrated in the past. Such kinds of incidents will continue to occur till such time that a long-term solution is reached, and that is to have a boundary agreement. And that should be the thrust of our efforts so that we have lasting peace along the northern (China) border.”
More than 50,000 troops from both the sides are now deployed at the LAC in Eastern Ladakh thereby heightening tension.
As regards Afghanistan, Naravane said developments there “have definitely been the focus” of the Indian Army that continues to evaluate threat perceptions and formulate strategies accordingly.
He said the Indian Army “or the armed forces for that matter continue to carry out periodic evaluation of threat perceptions”. Based on those evaluations, the Indian Army formulates strategies and doctrines that are needed to meet future threats, he noted. “This is a continuous process that never stops,” the Army chief said.
“We have a very dynamic counterinsurgency and counterterrorist grid in Jammu and Kashmir. It is a dynamic grid and it is based on threat perception and the escalating levels of attempts by our western neighbour(Pakistan) to push in more and more terrorists,” he said.
Naravane noted developments along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh added to the ongoing legacy challenges on “our active and disputed borders on the Western and Eastern Front.”
The Army chief also talked about rapid developments in defence technology, saying that avoiding “technological obsolescence” remains a big challenge.