Says situation along LAC stable ‘but sensitive’
New Delhi, Jan 29: Indian Army Chief General Manoj Pande on Monday said that the deployment has been strengthened both along Line of Control and anti-infiltration obstacle systems.
He said that violence levels have come down in the last year along the Line of Control (LoC), adding that the army will relentlessly pursue its operations to counter terrorists alongside the LoC and hinterland.
The Army Chief informed that “a total of 71 terrorists were eliminated in Jammu and Kashmir, of which 35 were in the hinterland and another 36 as a result of successful counter-infiltration operations” in 2023.
When asked about the measures and the overall security situation along the Line of Control, the Army Chief said, “Violence levels have come down. However, you mentioned the recent spurt in activities in Rajouri and Poonch. We have strengthened and reoriented our deployment both along the Line of Control and anti-infiltration obstacle systems as well as in the hinterland.”
“We are further improving our intelligence gathering in concert with the police and other agencies. The synergy between all agencies is being paid attention. Our operations to counter terrorists both along the Line of Control and hinterland will continue in a relentless manner,” he added.
On promoting Atmanirbharta (self-reliance) in the Indian Army, General Pande said, “One of the important lessons from the pandemic and Russia-Ukraine conflict is the need for us to become self-reliant and reduce our import dependency to near zero. Added to this, we want to leverage innovation potential as well as a vibrant startup ecosystem in the country.”
He further informed that nearly 100 per cent of army procurements are going to be through the indigenous route in the future.
“As of date, the Army Design Bureau is looking at close to 350 design and development as well as research and development projects in which they are engaging with about 450 industries, including the DRDO. In terms of the cost, it comes to about Rs 1.8 lakh crore. This is what the Army Design Bureau is doing. So, in a way, for the Army, nearly 100 pc of our procurements in the last year and in the future are going to be through the indigenous route,” he said.
On the ‘Made-in-India’ weapon system deployed in the forward areas, Indian Army Chief General Manoj Pande said, “I mentioned infantry protected mobility vehicles or protected wheeled vehicles, which give you both protection as well as high mobility to deal with any such situation. We also have drones and UAVs of different types.”
“We are in the final stages of Quantum Computing trials and once that happens, we will have better secure communication through the Quantum Computing encryption and technology,” he added.
Meanwhile, while maintaining that the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) remains stable ‘but sensitive’, Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Pande on Monday said that in the last one year there haven’t had any more friction areas between India and China.
In an interview with news agency, the Chief of Army Staff said that a total of 20 senior higher military commander meetings and 14 meetings of Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on China-India Border Affairs have taken place since April 2020.
“Situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) remains stable but is sensitive. In the last one year or thereabouts, we haven’t had any more friction areas in this. In terms of our efforts at resolution, our talks and dialogue both at the military level as well as the diplomatic level continue with the adversary,” General Pande said.
He said, “We have had total of 20 senior higher military commander level meetings and 14 WMCC meetings since April 2020. So the means of these talks, we’re hopeful that we’ll find a resolution.”
India shares 3,488 Km of border with China that runs along the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
Since May 2020, when the Chinese troops tried to aggressively change the status quo on LAC in eastern Ladakh, both sides have been deployed in forward positions near Patrolling Point 15, which emerged as a friction point in the wake of the Galwan clash.
Briefing about the Army’s preparedness levels along the northern border, General Pande said, “Our deployment remains robust as well as balanced and we are also maintaining adequate reserves to be able to deal with any contingencies.”
