Situation on the Chinese border entirely under control, assures Army Chief

New Delhi: The Chief of Army Staff promised that the situation on the Chinese border is entirely under control. Despite this, all the bases of the Indian Army and Airforce are kept in the state of readiness, to retaliate against any Chinese intrusion in any part of the border, including Ladakh. Even before the intrusion attempt at Ladakh, Chinese soldiers had attempted invasion on the eastern, central and western parts of the border. But the alert Indian soldiers foiled their attempts. Therefore, reports are coming in that not only in Ladakh, but the militaries of both the countries are facing each other in other parts of the border too.

On Friday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh convened a meeting of the chiefs of Army, Navy, Airforce and the Chief of Defence to assess the security of the country. Whereas, the Chief of Army Staff, General MM Naravane, reassured the nation by stating that the situation on the Chinese border is entirely under control. The official Indian stand is not to fester the situation with aggressive and provocative statements whenever there is a border situation with China. China too is not in a position to fester the condition with offensive comments. But it has been observed that China is making every possible effort to keep India under pressure. India converted Ladakh into a union territory with the abrogation of Article 370. A diplomat in the Chinese embassy in Pakistan made a statement that this could be the reason for the border dispute. Wang Xianfeng, the spokesman of the Chinese embassy in Pakistan, created a flutter in diplomatic circles by trying to blame India that the standoff between Indian and Chinese troops was linked to New Delhi’s decision to scrap Ladakh’s special status in his post on the social media. Even before the Galwan Valley and Pangong Lake areas, the Chinese soldiers had attempted intrusion at other locations along the border. But as per received reports, the Indian soldiers intercepted them. The Indian intelligence agencies also had noted increased suspicious activities in the areas near the Indo-Chinese border. Thereafter, the alertness of the Indian Army and Airforce has been increased on the eastern border. The Army and Airforce have been kept in the state of readiness to retaliate, any time, against a Chinese intrusion.

The Chinese government newspapers playing an essential role in the country’s campaigns are agitated as India made an equivalent soldier deployment to counter the Chinese deployment. One of the dailies claimed that the firepower of the Chinese military had been augmented after receiving the PCL-181 Howitzers, useful in the mountainous terrain. The Chinese daily has made a special mention that this howitzer, being light in weight, can be moved easily in the treacherous mountain terrain. This is a part of the Chinese attempt to pressurise India. Therefore, China is trying to prove its might by putting pressure on the political and military front simultaneously. But the Chinese efforts are not bearing fruits because of the stern stand taken by India. The former Indian military officers and analysts have consistently said that at one point or the other, the intruding Chinese military will have to retreat. At the same time, the United States has added to the Chinese restlessness, delivering a message that it will stand with India. India had initiated an action taking an aggressive stand on the border near Pakistan to teach China a lesson. India is sure that the right message was delivered to China with this action. The Indian guess proved right, and China, who was aggressive in the initial stage, started talking about peace after India taught a lesson to Pakistan. A former Indian military officer said that China realised that further military aggression by India would threaten Chinese investments in Pakistan.