The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi on Monday (January 13) said that a “degree of standoff” still remains along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China in the sensitive Ladakh region.
In April 2020, a border row had erupted along the LAC in Ladakh’s Galwan valley that lasted for months, worsening the diplomatic ties between the two neighbours.
Addressing his annual media briefing ahead of the Army Day, the army chief said, “As far as the standoff is concerned, we have to see what all has changed after April 2020. Both sides have doctored the terrain (through deployments and construction), carried out billeting construction and there has been stocking and deployment. This means there is a degree of standoff.”
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He described the current situation as “stable but sensitive” and said that the two sides must reach a broader understanding on how to calm the situation down and restore trust.
Notably, the Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have resumed their patrolling activities in Depsang and Demchok in eastern Ladakh after a gap of almost four-and-a-half years.
On the recent disengagement in the Depsang and Demchok, the army chief said that two rounds of verification patrolling has been completed by both sides and “both are quite satisfied about it”. As far as the grazing ground is concerned, he added, they have now mutually agreed upon.
“There is nothing called a buffer zone,” he added.
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“There is a requirement for us to sit together and come to a broader understanding on how we want to kind of calm the situation down and restore the trust. So, we are now looking forward to the next meeting of the Special Representatives on the border issue and the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on India-China border affairs, and we will move forward based on their guidance,” Dwivedi said.
Asked about reducing troops in view of the recent patrolling arrangements, he said that for now, during winters, the Army is “not looking at reduction in troop levels along LAC”. He also stated that the army’s deployment along the border is “robust and balanced” and that “India has adequate strategic patience”.
On the situation along the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan, the army chief said that the ceasefire agreement reached in February 2021 is holding on. However, the terror infrastructure remains intact and there continues to be infiltration attempts.
North Kashmir has seen an increase in terrorist activities in recent months, he said, while adding that 60% of the terrorists killed in Jammu and Kashmir last year were Pakistani.
“The violence level is being orchestrated by the epicentre of terrorism that is Pakistan… If the support is not forthcoming the way India is looking at it, this kind of terrorist infiltration will continue to be there,” he said at the briefing.