Prepared to beat any kind of emerging challenges: Lt Gen Kalita amid a report claiming more clashes in border

New Delhi, Jan 27: General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) Eastern Command RP Kalita on Friday said that the situation in both Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh is stable amid a report claiming that there could be more clashes between Indian and Chinese troops along their contested frontier where Beijing has been ramping up military infrastructure.

"There are different perceptions about LAC which leads to friction, however, the situation in both Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh is stable now but unpredictable because of the absence of delineation of borders," ANI quoted GOC-in-C Eastern Command Kalita as saying at a press conference.

He stated that India is continuously monitoring the activities that take place across the border and we are prepared to beat any kind of emerging challenges. "Eastern Army is responsible for maintaining territorial integrity on eastern borders and the task has been executed by our units and formations with utmost professionalism and dedication. We are continuously evolving and aware of oncoming operational challenges," he added.

Talking about the increase of Chinese troops in India-China border areas, he said, "We have read that gradually there has been an increase in deployment of troops opposite our sectors along with infrastructure being carried out by People's Liberation Army (PLA) across the down borders." However, he claimed that it was difficult to quantify the number of Chinese troops deployed in these areas.

Nonetheless, India is continuously and closely monitoring the developments in these areas. On asking the measures taken to protect Siliguri Corridor, Kalita said, "Siliguri Corridor is geo-strategically extremely important to us. All our mechanisms are in place to ensure there are no disruptions in connectivity in the northeast." He further said that PLA started infrastructure development post-2017 Doklam issue within their own territory.

"On our side, to mirror those activities, infrastructure development has been carried out to ensure better response from us in case we're required to do it," he added. He said that Arunachal Pradesh comprises seven valleys so movement is extremely difficult and it is difficult to make roadways.

On the other hand, a security assessment by Indian police in the Himalayan region of Ladakh stated that there could be more clashes in the region. "Given the domestic compulsions ... in China and their economic interests in the region, the PLA would continue to build up its military infrastructure and skirmishes would also get frequent which may or may not follow a pattern," Reuters cited the paper, referring to China's People's Liberation Army.

"If we analyse the pattern of skirmishes and tensions, the intensity has increased since 2013-2014 with an interval of every 2-3 years," it said.

"With the massive infrastructure build up by PLA on Chinese side both the armies are testing each other's reaction, strength of artillery and infantry mobilization time". "If we analyse the pattern of skirmishes and tensions, the intensity has increased since 2013-2014 with an interval of every 2-3 years," it said.

India and China are locked in a border standoff in eastern Ladakh for over 30 months. The bilateral relationship came under severe strain following the deadly clash in Galwan Valley in Eastern Ladakh in June, 2020.

With inputs from agencies