China’s intent is to keep border issue alive: Army chief

Talks and dialogue are the way forward to resolving outstanding issues on the Line of Actual Control but China’s intent seems to be to keep the border issue alive, Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande has said. Acknowledging that the Ukraine crisis has impacted supply chains for weapon systems, he also made a case for private companies stepping up their game to manufacture spares and systems needed by the armed forces.

In an interaction with the media, the Army chief said that resolution of the border issue cannot be a one way street and efforts need to be made by both sides to come to a solution, referring to the stalemate in Eastern Ladakh.

“The basic issue remains the resolution of the border (situation). What we see is that China’s intent has been to keep the boundary issue alive. What we need as a country is a ‘whole of nation’ approach and in military domain, this is to prevent and counter any attempt to alter the status quo at the LAC,” Gen Pande said.

The top officer, who has faced Chinese boundary moves as the Eastern Army Commander, said his aim is to restore status quo on LAC and bring the situation to what it was before April 2020 when the PLA attempted multiple incursions in Ladakh.

“Aim and intention also is to restore trust and tranquillity between both sides (but) it cannot be a one way street. Efforts have to be made from both sides,” he said, pointing out that contentious areas like the Pangong lake, Gogra and Galwan Valley have seen a resolution through dialogue.

“In the balance areas, as we engage through talks, we will find a resolution through dialogue,” he said, adding that adequate deployment of troops have been made along the LAC to deal with any contingency.

On the Ukraine-Russia crisis, the Army Chief said that the supply chain for weapons has been impacted though adequate stocks are available with the armed forces. Acknowledging dependencies for air defence weapons, rockets and tanks among others, Gen Pande said that opportunities have been presented to the Indian private industry to step up and manufacture spares, ammunition and other equipment needed by the forces.

On Kashmir, the officer said that while infiltration from the Line of Control has been controlled, Pakistani actors are using the international border to send in narcotics and arms and there have been attempts to mobilise local cadres to carry out attacks on citizens in the valley.

WIN-WIN SITUATION
Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande has said that conditions have been created for a win-win situation that will benefit both the armed forces and private industry. Making a strong case for the local industry to play a leading role, he said the Army has already identified 39 projects for design and development for the private sector that will lead to orders worth Rs 25,000 crore.