Situation along LAC with China stable but not normal: Army Chief
Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi on Tuesday said the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China is ‘stable’ but not ‘normal’ and remains ‘sensitive’.
The Army Chief was responding to a question at an event to announce a seminar, ‘Chanakya Dialogue’, organised by the Centre for Land Warfare Studies, a think tank under the Army. He was asked if China was the biggest security challenge to which the General said “the situation with China is stable, but is not normal and is sensitive”.
“We are wanting that the situation be restored to the pre-April 2020 level, General Dwivedi said as he listed several pending issues, including the troops on ground, buffer zones along the LAC and resumption of patrolling by troops as planned.
“Till the time the situation (of pre-April 2020) is not restored, the situation will remain sensitive and we are operationally fully prepared to face any kind of contingency that will come”, General Dwivedi said, adding that “trust between India and China becomes the biggest casualty”.
On how statements from the Chinese side have emerged about ‘convergence’ on issues, the Army Chief said ‘signalling’ is coming from the diplomatic side that gives options and possibilities, but when it comes to the execution on ground, it is dependent on the military commanders on both the sides to take those decisions.
On a progress of talks between India and China and if he could see possible deal coming through, 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 was immediately possible has already been resolved”.
“When it comes to the difficult situations where we have a different perception, some kind of indication have been given from the diplomatic side. The military side will sit together and see how this can be translated on ground”, the Army Chief added.
The Army Chief specially mentioned the pending disputes at Depsang and Demchok and possibilities saying “whatever one can imagine is on the table (or discussion) along the northern front and that includes Depsang and Demchok”.
General Dwivedi on the question of China has been intriguing our mind for quite some time. “With China you have to compete, cooperate and coexist, you have to confront and contest”, the General added.
On the question of China building infrastructure, including the Model villages, along its side of the border, General Dwivedi said China is busy constructing Model villages as it is carrying out “artificial immigration and artificial settlements”.
“There is no Chinese population or Tibet population close to the LAC. So what they are doing –by making model villages—they are carrying out this artificial immigration and artificial settlement”.
The Army Chief gave the example of South China Sea saying first the fishermen came and in order to save them, the military arrived. “The aspect of model villages may look simple but it may have a grandiose design behind”, he added.
On the Army’s own project to upgraded villages on the Indian side of the LAC, the General said, “We already have these kind of villages”.
India launched a 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.
