- Tuesday, April 30, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIAN Army chief Gen MM Naravane on Saturday (9) warned that China’s military build-up in the eastern Ladakh region and development of new infrastructure to sustain large-scale deployments there are matters of concern and India is keeping a close watch on the activities of the northern neighbour’s People’s Liberation Army.
Speaking at the India Today conclave in New Delhi, He said if the Chinese military maintains the deployment through the second winter, it might lead to an LoC (Line of Control)-like situation like that with Pakistan on the western front though not an active LoC.
The military chief also said the Indian Army will also maintain its presence on its side which is “as good as what the PLA has done” of Beijing continues with its deployment.
The armies of the two nuclear-armed neighbours have been on a standoff in several areas along their Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh for almost a year and half now though both sides disengaged from a number of friction points following a series of talks. There have also been cases of deaths on both sides as a result of the border skirmishes.
“Yes, it is a matter of concern that the large-scale build-up has occurred and continues to be in place, and to sustain that kind of a build-up, there has been an equal amount of infrastructure development on the Chinese side,” Gen Naravane said.
“So, it means that they (PLA) are there to stay. We are keeping a close watch on all these developments, but if they are there to stay, we are there to stay too,” he added.
Noting that the build-up and the development of infrastructure on the Indian side are as good as what the PLA has done on the Chinese side, Naravane said, “But what this would, especially if they continue to stay there through the second winter, definitely mean that we will be in a kind of LC (Line of Control) situation though not an active LC as is there on the western front.”
“But definitely, we will have to keep a close eye on all the troop build-up and deployments to see that they do not get into any misadventure once again,” he said.
Naravane said it is difficult to fathom why China triggered the standoff at a time when the world is fighting a pandemic and when Beijing has issues on its eastern seaboard.
“While all that is going on, to sort of open up one more front is very difficult to understand or fathom,” he said.
“But whatever it might have been, I do not think they have been able to achieve any of those because of the rapid response done by the Indian armed forces,” Naravane added.
