- Tuesday, February 25, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIAN Army chief MM Naravane has aired caution ahead of the 13th round of talks between India and China on the Ladakh standoff and disengagement of military forces saying the northern neighbour has deployed considerable number of troops across Ladakh.
“China has deployed in considerable numbers all across Eastern Ladakh and Northern front right up to our Eastern command. Definitely, there has been an increase in their deployment in the forward areas which remains a matter of concern for us,” Naravane was quoted as saying by Asian News International.
ALSO READ: Border issues with China won’t stop till there’s a boundary pact: Indian Army chief
“We are regularly monitoring all their movements. Based on the inputs we get, we are also carrying out matching developments both in infrastructure as well in terms of troops that are needed to counter any threat. At the moment, we are quite well poised to meet any eventuality,” he said.
Naravane reached eastern Ladakh on Friday for a two-day visit to review the operational preparedness in the region. He visited the Rezang La War Memorial, located close to Rezang La and Rechin La, two of the points from where the Indian and Chinese forces had disengaged in February.
The two countries’ forces had been stationed just a few hundred metres apart in the area till February. Since then, they have disengaged from Gogra Post in Ladakh but Hot Springs continues to be an area under focus.
Besides Hot Springs, the Chinese troops have also been blocking Indian troops from accessing their traditional patrolling points in Depsang Plains, close to the strategically significant Daulat Beg Oldie base in the north.
Last month, India’s minister of external affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Dushanbe, Kazakhstan.
According to sources in India’s external affairs ministry, the duo “exchanged views on the current situation along” the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh. Jaishankar acknowledged the disengagement at Gogra Post but noted that “there were still some outstanding issues that needed to be resolved”.
The last round of discussion between India and China – the 12th one – took place on July 31, during which both sides agreed to disengage from Gogra Post of Patrolling Point 17A.
Recently, Naravane said border incidents between India and China will continue to happen till a boundary agreement was reached between them.
