Amid the prolonged stand-off with China in Eastern Ladakh, Army Chief Gen. Manoj Naravane on Wednesday visited the forward areas and reviewed the ground situation along the south bank of Pangong Tso (lake), where the Indian Army had dominated several unoccupied peaks on the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in August-end.
“Chief of Army Staff (COAS) visited forward areas of Fire and Fury Corps, including Rechin La, and undertook a first-hand assessment of the situation along the LAC,” the Army said.
Gen. Naravane also undertook an on the spot inspection of the habitat of troops on the forward line of defences at Rechin La, an officer said.
During the one-day visit to the Leh-based 14 Corps, he also visited forward base Tara and interacted with the local commanders and troops. He was briefed on the operational situation by 14 Corps Commander Lt. Gen. PGK Menon.
Corps Commander-level talks
Eight rounds of Corps Commander-level talks in addition to diplomatic talks have so far failed to reach any breakthrough in disengagement and de-escalation along the LAC. With no end to impasse, the Army has built extreme weather habitat to accommodate the thousands of troops sitting in high altitudes and extreme weather in the winter.
Temperatures have already dropped in some locations to minus 30 degrees, another officer said. With harsh winters, it was now a game of wait and watch and holding on to the positions, the officer noted.
Pre-emptive move
In a pre-emptive move on August 29 and 30, the Army occupied some unoccupied heights in the Chushul sector from Thakung to Rechin La within the Indian perception of the LAC, foiling the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) attempts to dominate the heights. The Army had said that PLA troops carried out aggressive moves on the night of August 29 to change the status quo on the south bank of Pangong Tso and those have been thwarted.
The Army has deployed around 50,000 troops in addition to tanks and other equipment along the disputed boundary in Eastern Ladakh to match the Chinese deployments since the beginning of the stand-off in early May after ingress and build-up by PLA troops at several locations on the Indian side of the LAC.
Last week, the two sides held another round of Joint Secretary- level talks, following which the 9th round of senior military commander talks are expected to be held shortly.