Army chief visits forward areas
India, China hold diplomatic talks
NEW DELHI, June 24: China has significantly ramped up its military presence in Pangong Tso, Galwan valley and several other friction points in Eastern Ladakh even as it is engaged in military and diplomatic talks with India to ease tension in the region, people familiar with the development said.
They said Chinese military has also deployed a sizeable number of its troops in Galwan valley, the site of the violent clashes on June 15 that left 20 Indian soldiers dead.
The erection of a surveillance post by China in the area had triggered the clashes. However, Chinese troops have again put up some structure around patrolling point 14 in the area, notwithstanding India’s stiff opposition, they said.
Over the last few days, China has been laying claim over Galwan valley though India called it “untenable”.
Besides Pangong Tso and Galwan valley, the two armies are also locked in a standoff in Demchok, Gogra Hot Spring and Daulat Beg Oldie in Eastern Ladakh. A sizeable number of Chinese army personnel transgressed into the Indian side of the LAC.
China has also increased the number of troops and weaponry in several other key sectors along the Line of Actual Control in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Uttarakhand, the people cited above said.
The increase in military build-up by China along the LAC, the de-facto border between the two countries, came amid bilateral diplomatic and military talks.
Senior military commanders of the two armies on Monday held a nearly 11-hour meeting during which they arrived at a “mutual consensus” to “disengage” from all the friction points in Eastern Ladakh in a gradual manner.
The two sides on Wednesday held diplomatic talks under the framework of Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs.
In the meeting, both sides agreed to ensure expeditious implementation of the understanding on disengagement of troops from eastern Ladakh as decided in a meeting of senior military commanders on June 6, the Ministry of External Affairs said.
In the midst of fast-paced developments, Army chief Gen M M Naravane today visited various forward areas in Eastern Ladakh and reviewed the Army’s operational preparedness.
On the second day of his visit to Ladakh, Gen Naravane took stock of the Army’s combat preparedness in four forward areas and interacted with soldiers deployed there besides holding detailed deliberations with ground commanders.
The Army chief reviewed the overall security situation in the region with Northern Army Commander Lt Gen Yogesh Kumar Joshi, commander of the 14 Corps Lt Gen Harinder Singh and other senior Army officials on both Tuesday and Wednesday, sources said.
The Chief of Army Staff is expected to return to the national capital tomorrow.
“General M M Naravane #COAS visited forward areas in Eastern #Ladakh and reviewed the operational situation on the ground. #COAS commended the troops for their high morale and exhorted them to continue working with zeal and enthusiasm,” the Army said in a tweet.
The sources said India is also bolstering its military presence along the 3,500 km LAC with China.
On Sunday, the government gave the armed forces “full freedom” to give a “befitting” response to any Chinese misadventure along the LAC.
The Army has already sent thousands of additional troops to forward locations along the border in the last one week.
The IAF has also moved a significant number of its frontline Sukhoi 30 MKI, Jaguar, Mirage 2000 aircraft and Apache attack helicopters to several key air bases including Leh and Srinagar following the clashes.
The situation in eastern Ladakh deteriorated after around 250 Chinese and Indian soldiers were engaged in a violent face-off on May 5 and 6. The incident in Pangong Tso was followed by a similar incident in north Sikkim on May 9.
Prior to the clashes, both sides had been asserting that pending the final resolution of the boundary issue, it was necessary to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas.
Meanwhile, Army Chief Gen M M Naravane today awarded ‘Commendation Cards’ to five Indian Army soldiers for displaying exemplary grit and courage in dealing with Chinese troops in two separate clashes in Pangong lake and Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh, official sources said.
The soldiers were conferred the award at a forward location in eastern Ladakh.
Five soldiers were awarded ‘Commendation Cards’ by the Chief of Army Staff for valiantly fighting the Chinese troops during clashes with Chinese army in Pangong lake area and Galwan Valley, the sources said.
The commendation badges were pinned by the Army chief on soldiers involved in the June 15 incident at the Galwan valley’s Patrol Point 14.
The Army has not provided any details of the five soldiers or about their units.
The sources said majority of the soldiers awarded showed “great courage” in punishing the Chinese troops during the Galwan valley clash for their brutal attack on Indian soldiers.
“Whenever the Chief of the Army Staff visits formations or units, it is a norm to award Commendation Cards to personnel who exhibit exceptional devotion to duty. In the instant case also, personnel have been awarded for devotion to duty,” said a source.
Meanwhile, India and China today agreed to ensure expeditious implementation of the understanding on disengagement of troops from Eastern Ladakh as decided in a meeting of senior military commanders on June 6, the Ministry of External Affairs said.
The two sides held diplomatic talks through video conference on the border standoff in midst of fresh details emerging that China has strengthened its position in several areas in eastern Ladakh including Galwan Valley where a violent clash on June 15 left 20 Indian soldiers dead.
People aware of the development said China has significantly ramped up its military presence in several other key sectors along the Line of Actual Control in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Uttarakhand.
In a statement after the diplomatic talks, the MEA said the situation in eastern Ladakh was discussed in detail and that the Indian side conveyed its concerns over the violent face-off in Galwan valley.
“In this regard, it was emphasised that both sides should strictly respect and observe the line of actual control,” it said.
The MEA said the two sides recalled the conversation between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi last week, and reaffirmed that the understanding reached during military talks on June 6 on disengagement and de-escalation should be implemented “sincerely”
“The two delegations agreed that implementation of this understanding expeditiously, in accordance with the bilateral agreements and protocols, would help ensure peace and tranquillity in border areas and the development of broader relationship between the two countries,” the MEA said.
The talks were held between Joint Secretary (East Asia) in the Ministry of External Affairs Naveen Srivastava and Director General in the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Wu Jianghao.
The MEA said the two sides also agreed to maintain communication both at diplomatic and military levels including to resolve the existing situation peacefully.
The talks took place two days after Chinese and Indian armies arrived at a “mutual consensus” to “disengage” from all the friction points in eastern Ladakh.
It was the 15th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC). The last meeting under the WMCC framework was held on June 5.
The MEA said the two sides also took note of the discussions in the second meeting of the senior commanders which took place on June 22. (PTI)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
