Situation along LAC stable but sensitive, deployment extremely robust: Gen Pande
At the discussion on 'India & Indo-Pacific: Threats and Opportunities', held as part of the India Today Conclave 2024, the Army chief was asked a range of questions in the context of China's growing influence in the region and the future preparedness of the army «if the situation along the LAC escalates».
The eastern Ladakh border standoff erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong Lake area.
Ties between the two countries nose-dived significantly following the clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.
Asked what was the current situation at the LAC, Gen Pande said, «Very briefly if I were to sum up as to what the situation is, I would describe it to be stable but sensitive. And, this is where we need to keep a close watch, monitor very closely the activities across the LAC, both in the immediate, shall we say depth, and further behind.»
«I would say upfront, our deployment in terms of the troops and other elements that we have along the LAC, is extremely robust and, it is balanced. We also have or we do maintain adequate reserves, in terms of our infantry formation and other artilleries and the other elements, to be able to deal with any situation that may arise across the entire length of the LAC. So, this is as far as our preparedness is concerned,» he added.
India and China recently held a fresh round of high-level military talks to resolve the border row that witnessed both sides agreeing to maintain
