Army Chief to Visit Leh, Kashmir Amid India-China Border Tensions

Indian Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane will be in Leh and Kashmir on a two-day visit to take stock of the situation on the ground amid border tensions between India and China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

General Naravane’s visit comes after the deadly clash between Indian and Chinese troops on 15 June in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley in which 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives.

The Army chief, who is scheduled to visit the region on Tuesday, 23 June, will review force preparedness and deployment along the LAC with China, as well as the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan.

On Monday, Corps Commanders of both the Indian and Chinese sides met at Moldo for talks to de-escalate the situation in eastern Ladakh.

This is the second such meeting after 6 June.

News agency IANS reported that the situation in the Pangong Tso Lake is likely to be another flashpoint after Galwan as the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China is looking to unilaterally change the contours of the LAC in that area.

There has been heavy camping and patrolling by the PLA in the Indian areas around Pangong Tso. This has emerged as the biggest road-block in the bilateral talks, the report added.

(With inputs from IANS)