Also visits 14 Corps hqrs at Leh
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 28: On fourth day of his visit to the Union Territory of Ladakh, Army chief Gen Manoj Pande today visited forward areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh where Sino-Indian troops stand face-to-face at several points of friction for past over three years now.
Earlier, he visited 14 Corps headquarters in Leh and reviewed prevailing situation along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh.
During his visit to forward areas, Gen Pande accompanied by senior Army Commanders interacted with Army officers and troops deployed there and manning frontiers with China.
He was briefed on operational preparedness by the Army Commanders. He boosted morale of Field Commanders and Army soldiers deployed along the LAC.
The Chief of Army Staff complimented the troops for their unwavering commitment and exhorted them to continue working with utmost professionalism and positive spirit.
“General Manoj Pande, COAS visited forward areas of Ladakh and was briefed on operational preparedness. Interacting with troops, he complimented the soldiers for their unwavering commitment and exhorted them to continue working with utmost professionalism and positive spirit”, Army said in a tweet.
He also assessed requirements of the soldiers who have been manning the LAC in extreme harsh weather conditions in Eastern Ladakh and have foiled evil designs by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
Prior to his visit to Eastern Ladakh where India shares boundary with China, the Army chief also visited 14 Corps headquarters at Leh and reviewed situation in Eastern Ladakh with top Army Commanders including Northern Army Commander Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi and General Officer Commanding (GOC) Leh Corps Lt Gen Rashim Bali.
Gen Pande was briefed on various aspects of the situation including preparedness of the troops.
The Army chief’s visit comes amid continuing tensions along the India-China border.
The border row in Eastern Ladakh began after a brutal clash that took place between the two armies in mid-2020 at Galwan Valley which resulted in the sacrifice of 20 Indian soldiers’ lives besides 30-35 Chinese troops were killed.
There has been disengagement from various points on the LAC after several rounds of talks between India and China while in some other areas, troops of the two neighbours remained in eyeball-to-eyeball position.
Though both sides have been maintaining restraint, Indian Army recently thwarted the PLA plot to erect four tents in buffer zone at Chushul. Following intervention by the Indian Army Commanders, the PLA was forced to remove the tents immediately.
Next round of meeting between the Commanders of India and China for discussions on further disengagements hasn’t been finalized as yet.
On Thursday, Gen Pande visited the frozen battlefield of Siachen Glacier to review the operational preparedness of the troops. Siachen Glacier is the highest battlefield in the world.
The Army chief had reached Drass in Kargil district of Ladakh on July 25 in connection with Kargil Vijay Diwas celebrations. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Anil Chauhan and 3 Service chiefs besides other Army Commanders paid tribute to martyrs on 24th Kargil Vijay Diwas on July 26.
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