Situation on the Line of Actual Control(LAC) in Ladakh and continuing belligerence by Pakistan at the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir are likely to figure prominently during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s interaction at the Combined Commanders’ conference in March.
Operational readiness to deal with emerging challenges in the Indian sub-continent will also come up during the conference to be held in Kevadia, Gujarat. The Prime Minister is expected to give the direction to the military top brass on strategic and international relations, sources said here on Wednesday.
The Combined Commanders’ Conference is held annually and the Prime Minister addresses the top commanders. They include officers from the Navy, Indian Air Force and the Army. Chief of Defence Staff(CDS)and three Services Chiefs are some of the prominent officers to take part in the deliberations.
Modi will be briefed about the various modernization processes on in the Services to fight the modern day war with the advent of information technology and space.
The commanders will also update the Prime Minister about the pace of reforms in the armed forces to make them lean and mean, better utilization of resources and fighting the future conflicts jointly. In that direction, Modi will take stock of the process of formation of theatre commands besides air defence command, officials said.
He will also briefed about the Special Forces Agency, Cyber Security Agency and Space Agency. These newly created organizations have pooled in the resources of the armed forces for better and faster utilization of resources and manpower.
Besides these issues, the Prime Minister will take stock of current situation at the LAC where the first stage of pull back of the armies of India and China is currently on. The LAC in Ladakh saw a ten-month long stand-off including a bloody brawl in the Galwan valley. Twenty Indian army personnel including the commanding officer were killed in the incident on June 15.
Since then both the sides ramped up their force strength and at present more than one lakh troops of the two armies are facing each other. Moreover, the entire 4,000 km long LAC is now sensitive and the Indian security establishment has made sure China does not spring any surprise. The LAC stretches from Ladakh in the west to Arunachal Pradesh in the east.
Pakistan continues to violate ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir apart from fomenting terrorism there. The overall security scenario may also be discussed during Modi’s interaction with the commanders, sources said.