‘Situation Along LAC Stable’: Army Chief Amid India-China Talks

The army chief is hopeful that Indo-China military troops will reach an agreement on disengagement in Ladakh.

Army Chief General MM Naravane. 

(Photo: Twitter/Altered by The Quint)

Army chief General MM Naravane on Tuesday, 10 November, said he was hopeful for Indo-China military troops to reach an agreement on disengagement and de-escalation of the nearly seven-month-long border standoff in Chushul, Eastern Ladakh.

Speaking at a conclave organised by Bharatshakti.in, a portal on defence and military issues, General Naravane said, “We are hopeful of reaching an agreement which is mutually acceptable and is really beneficial in keeping with the overarching policy guidelines. At present, the situation in the region is quite stable,” reported news agency PTI.

The army chief addressed the seminar and said that dialogue is going on between senior military commanders of India and China to iron out modalities for de-escalation of tensions between the troops of both nations.

There are currently 50,000 Indian soldiers deployed in minus 20 degrees Celsius weather in a high state of combat readiness. China has deployed a similar number of troops on their side of the LAC border as well, the report added.

General Naravane said the Indian troops are “equipped with appropriate clothing and weapons and are experiencing no shortage whatsoever,” reported PTI.

The eighth round of high-level Corps Commander-talks happened on 6 November in Chushul on the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. For the first time, Lieutenant General PGK Menon lead the Indian military delegates during the talks.

The talk broadly highlighted the disengagement and de-escalation of troops from specific friction points along the Line of Actual Control.

In a joint statement released earlier on Friday, the Indian Army and the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) described the talks as ‘candid, in-depth and constructive dialogue’. The statement said it was agreed to ensure that the frontline troops exercise restraint and avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation, reported News18.

The nearly seven-month-long standoff between the two countries started in early May and previous talks between diplomatic and military channels of India and China have yielded no concrete outcome. Both the countries’ military top commanders have met seven times in a bid to resolve the border standoff.

Both India and China are expected to hold another round of talks soon to discuss specific proposals for a breakthrough in the prolonged disengagement process, reported PTI.

(With inputs from PTI and News18)