Indian Army Chief to give assessment of LAC tensions to political leadership at high level meet

New Delhi, June 25: General M M Naravane will brief the top leadership on the situation at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) amidst the tension with China.

The Indian Army Chief returned after a two day trip to east Ladakh theatre. He took stock of the situation and also met with the soldiers who were injured in the Galwan Valley clash on June 15.

The assessment to be put out by the Army Chief would be crucial for the political leadership to chart out the next course of action. The assessment is also crucial as tensions are high at the LAC, although there has been no flare up after the June 15 incident.

In addition to this, the Army Chief would also be holding discussions with Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat and the Indian Air Force and Navy chiefs.

He would brief them about the force requirements on the ground. A decision on this would be handled by the CDS.

General Naravane would also provide the political leadership with an assessment on the ground, after the new satellite images emerged.

During his two day visit, he had an on the spot assessment about the stand off points with China in east Ladakh. He had also directed the troops to enhance patrolling of all the 65 points on the Line of Actual Control with the support of the Indo-Tibet Border Police.

Even as diplomatic talks continue, India still remains skeptical of China. Following the virtual meet of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs, the Ministry of External Affairs said that both sides promised to implement disengagement.

During the talks, both sides emphasised on the importance of respecting the Line of Actual Control. The MEA said that the Indian side conveyed its concerns on the recent developments in Eastern Ladakh, including on the violent face-off in the Galwan Valley area on June 15 that had resulted in casualties.

In New Delhi, officials say that the issue is far serious than the one that was at Doklam.

We know this is a long haul and we do not see the Chinese disengaging in any meaningful manner. The primary intent of the Chinese is to change the way India sees itself and also on how it deals with the rest of the world. Hence China is forcibly changing the status quo on the ground, the officer cited above said.

The virtual meet of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs is the second one since June 5 and was held through video conference.

The next level after the WMCC is the Special Representative mechanism. However, there is no indication whether the two sides intend to convene the meeting anytime soon.