Army increased near China border in Arunachal

Ground Report | New Delhi: Army increased near China border; Amidst the ongoing tension in eastern Ladakh for one and a half years, India is now cautious about military exercises and the deployment of Chinese forces in the interior parts of the border with Arunachal Pradesh. Indian Army has prepared an emergency plan to deal with any security-related challenge.

Army increased near China border

The commander of the Eastern Command, Lieutenant General Manoj Pandey, has told that this time activities have increased in the annual training program of the People's Liberation Army of China, its soldiers are being deployed in the border areas.

Lt Gen Pandey also pointed out that both the countries are developing infrastructure along the Line of Actual Control, which creates some controversy. Army deployment is also being increased.

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The way China is trying to build diplomatic relations with Bhutan in Northeast India is a matter of concern in India as well.

While not saying anything directly on the agreement on the decades-old border dispute in China-Bhutan, the lieutenant general expressed hope that the agreement will be looked into by government officials.

Speaking about the measures taken, he observed that the first step was increasing surveillance in areas close to and deep inside the LAC. This was being done at a strategic level by synergizing resources from satellites to troops on the ground and "we have enough forces in each area for any requirement".

3,488 km long LAC

• "In some areas, where we had less deployment, we have strengthened our deployment, but there has been no major increase in troops along the massive LAC," he asserted.

• They were also specifically looking at maximizing technology in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, communications and so on, he reiterated.

• Out of the 3,488 km long LAC, 1,346 km falls in the eastern sector.

• The establishment of the new 17 Mountain Strike Corps began in 2014. By now it was fully operational and all its units including combat, combat support, and support were fully equipped, the Army Commander asserted.

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“Its employment philosophy is stable. Corps formations are taking our validation and training integrated with other formations,” he said.

fourth hotline

India and China have three established hotlines for communication in the eastern sector between the armies to resolve any issues that may arise. Recently the fourth hotline was launched.

The army had launched a series of emergency purchases for eastern Ladakh in the backdrop of the standoff that began in May. Lt Gen Pandey highlighted that during that time also several emergency purchases were made under the Eastern Command.

Some of the focus areas were to increase maneuverability in the context of all-terrain vehicles where the infrastructure was not good, precision-guided ammunition, improved radio sets for communications, radar, and night vision devices.

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