No reduction of Indian Army troops at LAC amid border row with China

In a strong message to China, India has made it clear that it is not going to lower its guard in the region. India will not reduce its number of troops deployed at LAC amid the ongoing border issues in eastern Ladakh.

On Saturday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reviewed the overall security scenario in eastern Ladakh. The meeting was attended by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, Army Chief Gen MM Naravane, Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh and Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria.

All aspects of the dispute were discussed in the meeting and the future course of approach in dealing with the situation was also deliberated upon.

The meeting took place just two days after India and China held a fresh round of diplomatic talks to resolve the border row.

On Thursday, the two sides held another round of diplomatic talks following which the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said they had agreed to resolve outstanding issues in an “expeditious manner”.

Meanwhile, China has increased its surveillance on the central sector of the Indian Army amid its border tension with India, according to intelligence report on Thursday. China has upgraded its surveillance system on the other side of Tun-Jun-La near Barahoti in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district. India’s border is till Tun-jun-la, three kilometres ahead of Barahoti. 

According to the report, China has installed two cameras rotating up to 180 degrees near the LAC. It has also installed several kinds of poles in that area. China has also built a large solar panel and a windmill in the area.

The Chinese military has pulled back from Galwan Valley and certain other friction points but the withdrawal of troops has not moved forward in Pangong Tso, Depsang and a couple of other areas.

India and China have held several rounds of military and diplomatic talks in the last two-and-half months but no significant headway has been made in resolution of the border row.

The Indian side has been insisting on complete disengagement of Chinese troops and immediate restoration of status quo in all areas of eastern Ladakh.

The tension between the two sides escalated after the violent skirmish in Galwan Valley on June 15, 2020 in which 20 Indian Army soldiers were killed. The Chinese side also suffered casualties but it is yet to give out the details. 

Following the incident, the Army has sent thousands of additional troops to forward locations along the border. The IAF has also moved air defence systems as well as a sizeable number of its frontline combat jets and attack helicopters to several key airbases.

(With inputs from PTI)