NEW DELHI: Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande on Monday doubted China’s intentions towards resolution of LAC issues, which he said, meant keeping the boundary issue alive. He said the resolution of the prevailing standoff in eastern Ladakh is his top challenge.
“The basic issue remains the resolution of the border issues. What we see is that China’s intention has been to keep the boundary issue alive. What we need as a country is a ‘whole of nation’ approach. In the military domain, this is to prevent and counter any attempt to alter the status quo at the LAC,” said Gen Pande.
Terming the ongoing talks and engagements “good”, Gen Pande said the corps commanders of the two countries have been able to resolve many friction areas. The remaining areas, he said, could only be resolved through dialogue.
China deployed its troops after a clash with the Indian soldiers in May 2020 at Finger 4 on the north bank of the Pangong Lake in eastern Ladakh. Both sides have deployed around 60,000 troops along with heavy weaponry. The standoff at Depsang, Hot Spring and Demchok continues.
“The first and foremost challenge is the resolution of the situation along borders prevailing since April/May 2020. Our aim and intention is to restore the status quo ante. Our intention is also to re-establish the trust and tranquillity on both sides,” said the Army Chief.
The Army’s focus has been on upgrading intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities and building infrastructure, he said.
On the geopolitical and geostrategic impacts of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Indian Army feels that it has important lessons to draw. “Not only we will have to keep an eye on the emerging world order but also see that the focus doesn’t shift from issues like Afghanistan and the Indo-Pacific which impact us,” said Gen Pande.
“The lesson has come out loud and clear. In the cyber domain, we have seen the battle of narratives being used to gain advantage. We need to increasingly focus on new domains of warfare, focus on capability development,” said Gen Pande.