Indian Army Chief General Naravane Visits Ladakh Amid Tensions Between Indian, Chinese Troops Along LAC

General Naravane’s security assessment of the situation in the highly sensitive region along the Chinese border came a day after India had rejected Chinese allegation that the Indian troops crossed LAC in Ladakh and Sikkim sectors and build up tensions between the two Asian neighbours.

New Delhi: Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) General M M Naravane on Friday visited the headquarters of the 14 Corps based in Leh in the Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh amid growing tensions between the Indian and Chinese armies at multiple locations along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the mountainous region.

General Naravane’s security assessment of the situation in the highly sensitive region along the Chinese border came a day after India had rejected Chinese allegation that the Indian troops crossed LAC in Ladakh and Sikkim sectors and build up tensions between the two Asian neighbours. India had also accused the Chinese army of hindering patrols on the Indian side.

The top military field Commanders in Leh including the Northern Army Commander Lt Gen YK Joshi, 14 Corps Chief Lt Gen Harinder Singh and other senior officers briefed the Army Chief on the LAC situation. Sources said there is stand-off situation at three locations including the Galwan Nala area where over 300 troops each from the Chinese side have come to stake claim.

The Indian Army field Commanders have been holding talks with their Chinese counterparts on the situation and finding a way out of it, the sources said. The stand offs have taken place mainly due to the Chinese objection to Indian road construction activities in the Galwan Nala area and the DBO sector.

The visit of the senior most General of the Indian Army comes at a time when the repeated talks between local commanders of the two Armies have failed to de-escalate the tensions, even as diplomatic channels are continuing to be at work to end the stand-off.

It should be noted that the present escalation of the border situation along the LAC marks the first major flare-up between the two Asian giants since the 73-day-long Dokalam crisis had erupted in 2017.