LAC situation stable but not normal: Army Chief on Eastern Ladakh standoff

Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi on Tuesday said the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China was stable, but not normal and remained “sensitive”.

The Army Chief was responding to a question at an event held to announce the seminar “Chanakya Dialogue”. It is organised by the Centre for Land Warfare Studies, a think-tank under the Army.

When asked if China was the biggest security challenge, the General said, “The situation with China is stable, but is not normal and is sensitive.”

“We want the situation to be restored to the pre-April 2020 level,” General Dwivedi said, listing several pending issues, including the troops on ground, the buffer zones along the LAC and resumption of patrolling by troops as planned.

“Till the time that earlier status (pre-April 2020) is not restored, the situation will remain sensitive, and we are operationally fully prepared to face any kind of contingency,” General Dwivedi said, adding that trust between India and China had become the “biggest casualty”.

On how statements from the Chinese side have emerged about “convergence” on issues, the Army Chief said “signalling” was coming from the diplomatic side that gave options and possibilities, but when it comes to the execution on ground, it was dependent on the military commanders on both sides.

On progress of talks between India and China, General Dwivedi said: “Over a period of time, both sides have been sitting together for diplomatic parleys. We have come a long way since April 2020... whatever that was immediately possible has been already resolved.”

“When it comes to difficult situations where we have a different perception, some kind of an indication has been given from the diplomatic side. The military side will sit together and see how this can be translated on ground,” he said.

Specially mentioning the pending disputes at Depsang and Demchok, the Army Chief said: “Whatever one can imagine is on the table (for discussion) along the northern front and that includes Depsang and Demchok.”

General Dwivedi said,”China has been intriguing our minds for quite some time. With China, you have to compete, you have to cooperate, you have to coexist and you have to confront and contest.”

Asked about China’s construction of villages along the frontier with India, the Army Chief said the country was carrying out “artificial immigration”. “There is no Chinese or Tibetan population close to the LAC... So they are carrying out this artificial immigration and artificial settlement”.

“The aspect of model villages may look simple, but it may have a grandiose design behind it,” he said.

India launched its Vibrant Villages Programme on April 13, 2023, from Kibithoo in far-east Arunachal Pradesh. The Rs 4,800-crore project aims to cover 662 villages.