Army chief set to review preparedness along borders

No unusual activities detected on LAC since Ukraine crisis

Army Chief M. M. Naravane during an event. File | Photo Credit: Reuters

As the snow melts and summer begins in high-altitude areas, top brass of the three Services are in Lucknow reviewing the situation along the borders amid global and regional developments.

Army chief General Manoj Naravane is scheduled to preside over these deliberations and will also review operational deployments along the northern and western borders, Army sources said on Tuesday.

Increased capabilities

“Senior Army, Navy and Air force officers are attending [in Lucknow] a series of discussions focused on reviewing the current international and regional environment with a view to progressively increase own capabilities through force level optimisation, technology adoption, induction of force multipliers, as also modernisation and improvement of infrastructure,” a defence source said.

“Operational readiness of troops and equipment to match strategy and tactics are also being reviewed to respond to the emerging threats and challenges.”

“Gen. Naravane is scheduled to visit the Headquarter Central Command, Lucknow where he will preside over deliberations on wide-ranging subjects concerning military preparedness,” the source said.

“The Army Chief is scheduled to review the deployment of Army formations on western and northern borders while they are transitioning from winter to summer posture.”

Forces on alert

As reported by The Hindu recently, officials had stated that there was no unusual activity on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) since the Russian attacks on Ukraine. However, the forces are keeping a close watch as the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) mobilises large number of troops for annual exercises in Tibet in April in its training grounds deep inside on its side.

Exercising caution

With the April 2020 standoff in eastern Ladakh still continuing and thousands of troops deployed close by both sides, there is caution in case China springs another surprise. The Army too conducts annual exercises in the higher altitude in summer.

Officials have also stated that the Army’s preparedness on the LAC in unlikely to be impacted due to sanctions on Russia.