NEW DELHI: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met the senior most defence officials to take stock of the situation at Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Eastern Ladakh. This meeting is right before Defence ministers visit to Russia.
At the meeting, Singh carried out a comprehensive review of the entire security situation in eastern Ladakh and all other sensitive areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, the sources said.
The meeting was attended by Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, Army Chief Gen MM Naravane, Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh and Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria.
“The meeting went off for about an hour. Apart from the current situation the powers of taking independent decision to deal with ‘belligerence’ of the Chinese troops was again discussed and re-emphasised,” said a source.
The incident of Chinese attacking the Indian soldiers in Galwan, Patrolling Point 14, with rods and bamboo stick studded with nails with PLA troops attired in riot gears came as a rude shock to the soldiers bound by protocols.
“Indian Army’s discipline and commitment towards the protocols was misused by the Chinese troops who ambushed them in a planned manner which led to loss of 20 lives including the Commanding Officer of the local Unit. Now the Commanders are free to improvise their reactions befitting the Chinese actions and to reply them in their own language.” told a senior officer.
They said the ground commanders of the Army have even been allowed to use firearms in rare cases, in a departure from the decades-old understanding between the two militaries to not resort to gun power in face-offs.
India has already mobilised fighter jets and sent thousands of additional troops to forward locations along the border with China after June 15.
The clash in Galwan Valley, the worst cross-border violence in 45 years, significantly frayed ties between the two countries, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi sending a strong message to China that "India wants peace but if provoked, India is capable of giving a befitting reply".
In the meeting on Sunday, Singh told the top military officers to maintain a strict vigil on Chinese activities around the land border, the airspace and in strategic sea lanes, the sources said.
Following the Galwan incident, the sources said, Indian troops will no longer be bound by the long-held practice of not using firearms in faceoffs.
Indian Army is likely to convey to the Chinese military about the decision soon.
An important indication comes from Finger 4 which has been the most complicated standoff. Sources informed that Indian Army has now decided to change tactics at Finger 4.
“We have been asked to not hold ourselves but to show strength at Finger-4 after Galwan incident.” said the source.
The two armies had mutually decided not to resort to use firearms during face-offs in sync with provisions of two agreements on border management.
The agreements were signed in 1996 and 2005.
The IAF has already moved a sizeable number of its frontline Sukhoi 30 MKI, Jaguar, Mirage 2000 aircraft and Apache attack helicopters to several key air bases including Leh and Srinagar in the last five days.
Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria on Saturday said the IAF is "well prepared" and "suitably deployed" to counter any security challenge along the border with China and even hinted that his force has flown combat air patrols in the Ladakh region as part of heightened preparedness.
Under combat air patrols, fully armed fighter jets can be scrambled at short notices for specific missions.
The two armies were engaged in a standoff in Galwan and several other areas of eastern Ladakh since May 5 when their troops clashed on the banks of the Pangong Tso.
The situation in eastern Ladakh deteriorated after around 250 Chinese and Indian soldiers were engaged in a violent face-off on May 5 and 6.
The incident in Pangong Tso was followed by a similar incident in north Sikkim on May 9.
Prior to the clashes, both sides had been asserting that pending the final resolution of the boundary issue, it was necessary to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas.
The standoff between the two armies is at two points in Galwan Valley, Patrolling Point 14 and Patrolling Point 15, at Gogra Post (Patrolling Point 17A) in Hot Spring Sector and Finger-4 lying on the Northern Flank of the Pangong Tso Lake. The soldiers are on both sides of the Patrolling Point 14 in equal numbers told the sources. The Clash on Monday took place at this point. The standoff remains at other points also, confirmed the sources.
General VK Singh said on Saturday that if we lost 20, soldiers, more than double the number were killed on their side” This is first statement from a minister of the present Government.
The Defence Minister’s meeting was important as the military to military meetings between the Indian and Chinese officers in the Eastern Ladakh have halted after the three days continuous meeting from Tuesday as on Monday evening there was a brutal clash which took Place at Patrolling Point 14 in which soldiers from both the sides lost lives. Thursday was the last meeting when the 10 Indian soldiers were released by the Chinese side.
The government has also granted the three services additional financial powers of up to Rs 500 crore per procurement project to buy ammunition and weapons in view of the tense border standoff with China.
Defence Minister is to leave for Moscow on Monday to attend the Victory Parade on June 24, 2020 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the victory in the Second World War. The Parade is organised to honour the heroism and sacrifices made by the Russian and other friendly people.
Separately, a Tri-Service 75- Member Indian Military Contingent has already reached Moscow to participate in the Victory Parade along with Russian contingent.
(With PTI Inputs)