Army Chief To Review The Operational Situation At The LAC Amid A War Of Words Between India And China As It Renames Eleven Indian Locations

The Army Chief General Manoj Pande will review the operational situation, defence preparedness and combat readiness of the Indian Army as the five-day Combined Commanders Conference begins today amid the continuing three-year border standoff at LAC.

The conference comes as a war of words between India and China escalated following China announcing names of 11 villages and mountain peaks in Arunachal Pradesh.

This was followed by a visit of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to 'Kibithoo', a town close to LAC in Arunachal Pradesh where he said, "no one can encroach even a tip of a pin's worth of our land because ITBP and Indian Army are present at our borders".

This resulted in a sharp reaction from the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, calling the Union Minister's visit as violating Beijing's territorial sovereignty and not "conducive" to peace and tranquillity along the border.

The Combined Commanders Conference will "brainstorm the current and emerging scenarios as we well as get an update on the tri-service Andaman and Nicobar command", an army officer said.

The Army Chief will review the troop preparedness in the three sectors of the LAC — western (Ladakh), middle (Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh) and Eastern (Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh).

China, on the other hand, has refused to disengage from crucial border points in the Depsang plains and the Charding Nullah in Demchok area and has strengthened their claims in the eastern sector.

The Defence Minister will also address army officers on 19 April while reviewing an equipment display focusing on niche technologies, innovations, solutions for surveillance, artificial intelligence, robotics and operational logistics.

According to the report, this is the first commanders conference which is conducted in a 'hybrid format', where the commanders will meet virtually on Monday and then travel to New Delhi to meet in person.