Trust has been the “biggest” casualty, Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi said terming the situation with China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh as “stable” but is “not normal” while stressing that they want restoration of the ground status as existed pre-April 2020.
On the situation in Manipur, he said that no drone bombs were used and there was no infiltration by 900 anti-national elements contrary to some claims.
Also read | Reached ‘some consensus’ with India: Chinese military on disengagement process in Ladakh
“The situation on the ground today is stable but it is not normal and it is sensitive. We want the situation that existed per-April 2020 that should be restored, whether it’s be the ground occupation, situation, the buffer zone that have been created or the patrolling that has been planned. Till the time that is not restored, as far as we are concerned the situation will remain sensitive and we are operationally prepared to face any contingency… and in the entire gamut we see that trust has been the biggest casualty,” Gen Dwivedi said speaking at the curtain raiser event for the Chanakya defence dialogue being organised jointly the Army along with the Centre for Land Warfare Studies.
“As far as China is concerned, it has been intriguing our minds for quite some time. With China, you have to compete, cooperate, coexist, confront, and contest,” the Army Chief said.
Talking of the ongoing negotiations between the two countries for disengagement in the two remaining friction areas, the Army Chief noted that when it comes to execution on the ground it depends on the ground commanders.
Also read | India-China relationship key to Asia’s future, their parallel rises present unique problem: Jaishankar
He also referred to the ‘grey zone’ tactics by China referring to the artificial island reclamation in the South China Sea. Elaborating on this, Gen Dwivedi said, “Do we call Doklam a war? Do we call Kargil a full-fledged war? Do we call Galwan a war? The answer is no. So all these are basically part of the grey zone battle. So we need to be prepared for it.”
He further went on saying that as far as the thought process is concerned, both the COs should be on the same page, that is the Commanding Officer and the Army Chief. So this means that there should be common thinking at the entire level because a small tactical mis-action will lead to a strategic ramification which can involve the entire country,” he said adding, “So, keeping this in mind, we are preparing ourselves for grey zone battles. So, in all domains, we need to prepare ourselves...”
In the run up to the BRICS summit later this month in Russia, there has been expectation of a possible breakthrough in the talks for disengagement from Depsang and Demchok.
Speaking in Geneva on September 12, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had said that “roughly” about “75% of disengagement problems are sorted out.” “We still have some things to do,” he said, adding that “there is a bigger issue that both of us have brought forces close up and in that sense, there is a militarisation of the border”.
There have been several high level political engagements in the last few months at the Foreign Minister and NSA level. There have been two rounds diplomatic level talks and the next round of Corps Commander level talks are due.
Since the Corps commander level talks in 2020, the two sides have so far undertaken disengagement from five friction points – from Galwan after the violent clash in June 2020, from the North and South Banks of Pangong Tso in February 2021, from Patrolling Point (PP) 17 in the Gogra-Hot Springs area in August 2021 and PP15 in September 2022. The last disengagement, from PP15, was a result of the understanding reached during the 16th round of Corps Commander level military talks held on July 17, 2022.
Published - October 01, 2024 01:45 pm IST
