NEW DELHI: India will not reduce the number of its troops deployed across the actual control line with China in the short term, General Upendra Dwivedi said on Monday, asserting that “a degree of confrontation” still persists between the rival armies and that the two countries need to rebuild trust to reduce overall tensions.
The army chief also criticized Pakistan for remaining the “epicenter of terrorism orchestrating” cross-border violence in J&K, pointing out that 60% of terrorists killed in the state last year were of Pakistani origin and 80% of Active terrorists are also active. from the same country.
Speaking ahead of Army Day on Wednesday, General Dwivedi described the current situation along the 3,488-kilometre LAC with China as “stable but sensitive”, with thousands of rival troops and heavy weapons systems still at odds with each other. almost five years.
India has “the right strategic patience” to resolve the military confrontation with China, he said, adding that troop deployments along the LAC were “balanced and robust” and “well prepared” to meet any contingency.
The army chief also made it clear that the existing ground situation is not ripe for any kind of troop cuts during the ongoing winter, and the decision on summer deployment will be based on the outcome of future negotiations with China.
When asked if India had agreed to grant patrolling rights to Chinese troops in sensitive areas like the Yangtze in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang sector, which had seen a clash between rival troops in December 2022, General Dwivedi said all Corps commanders have been delegated powers to resolve “minor frictions” related to patrolling and herding issues so that they do not become “major problems” later.
Following the withdrawal of troops from the two remaining standoff points at Depsang and Demchok in eastern Ladakh last October, which has led to the re-establishment of patrols by rival soldiers and herding of the pastors, India wants China to move towards de-escalation and then de-escalation. -induction of its more than 50,000 troops deployed there.
Since April 2020, when the People’s Liberation Army carried out multiple incursions into eastern Ladakh, General Dwivedi said both sides have “manipulated” the terrain, carried out construction, deployed troops and resorted to military measures. Consequently, there still exists “a certain degree of stagnation,” he said.
“Trust between countries has to have a new definition. Therefore, there is a need for us to sit together and come to a broader understanding on how we want to defuse the situation and restore confidence,” the army chief said. The Army will wait for “guidance” on how to move forward in the next round of talks at the diplomatic and special representative level, he added.
Indian troops, of course, cannot patrol in the previously established “buffer zones” in Galwan, the northern bank of Pangong Tso, the Kailash Range and the larger Gogra-Hot Springs area in eastern Ladakh, which vary from 3 to 10 kilometers. which arose largely in what India considers its own territory.
General Dwivedi, however, said: “There is nothing called buffer zone… When you feel that the nature or degree of violence may be high and the fuse is short, some distances are created. “So when we carried out these negotiations over a period, in some places we declared a temporary moratorium.”
“This means that both sides will stay back and not go to common areas because we still feel that if we meet in those places, the level of violence may increase,” he added.