New Delhi [India], February 19 (ANI): Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi on Wednesday said he has empowered the Corps Commanders deployed in formations along the China border to resolve issues at their level and avoid violence.
“What I have done is to empower all the Corps Commanders along the Line of Actual Control to make sure that wherever issues can be resolved at their level where there is a misinterpretation of understanding and which can escalate to violence, that should be something controlled,” Gen Dwivedi said in ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash.
He talked about the disengagement and de-escalation along the India-China border and how, in recent times, the Indian Army has strengthened its presence around the border.
When asked about the present-day boundary situation regarding disengagement and de-escalation with China, the COAS explained the disengagement part.
“In April 2020, some places we had difference of perception and we had to lead to violent means. So when that happened…both sides were in contact with each other and over a period of time, both sides then decided to get back. So when they got back, then it’s called a disengagement,” he said.
“But some places we felt there’s a requirement kind of resolve that issue further…on October 21, 2024, we signed those documents or agreements and thereafter wherever such issues were still pending, we could resolve that. Once you have done that, what is the next stage…like I keep saying that both sides, in their own side – that is China side and India side – what you have done, you have constructed billeting, you have constructed a few roads over a period of time. So what happened, the capability to bring the troops forward changes vis-a-vis what it was earlier. If that is the case, what do you do? You define the new definition that how do we go about as far as this is concerned,” he said.
The Army Chief said though the patrolling, grazing rights and other issues have been resolved, there is a need to harmonize this and that’s “when the military side you have seen that from the Battalion Commander till Corps Commander level.. we have allowed people to talk to each other so that wherever there is some kind of a doubt we can raise the level and resolve it but all this is dependent on the Special Representatives meeting which took place under NSA”.
He said empowerment has been given to WMCC (Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs).
The Army Chief said Special Representatives meeting of the two countries had earlier taken place in 2019-20 and after that it was put on hold and then eventually resumed in December last year where “some directions have been given on how to go about resolving this”.
“The WMCC, that is headed by the Joint Secretary of the MEA, under which one of the reps of the military is also there. Both sides sit together and provide us the strategic guidance. So as and when they provide us the strategic guidance, based on that, we’ll move ahead,” he said.
“Do we need to reduce troops, more confidence building measures…all this will take place once we come to a common point. Okay, from there we will start and these are the steps which will follow. Once the steps are decided how to go about it, we’ll move ahead,” he added.
Asked about his remarks that the terrain around the Indo-China border has been “doctored’ by either China or India, General Dwivedi noted that the Indian Army has not moved into a disputed territory, but instead, have just become “comfortable” and “assertive”.
“If you take your mind back to 2007, or even 2001, earlier ITBP (Indio-Tibetian Border Police) used to control the area, the Indian Army was negligible but over a period of time we have moved ahead, similarly China also,” General Dwivedi said.
Explaining the process of expanding the habitats and creating infrastructure on the LAC (Line of Actual Control) for soldiers, the COAS said “when you have more soldiers, you have billeting (assigning quarters) for them, you require transportation for them, roads and tracks are required”.
“It is not that we have come to a disputed (area) where there are some issues. Wherever we are, we have made ourselves assertive and comfortable. If all that is the case, then the terrain will be doctored because you have to make the roads, billeting, since it has been done by both the sides, therefore, that is what I wanted to say,” he added.
He further commented on the stockpiling of resources, saying that this has happened due to there being more soldiers in the area.”Lets say, earlier you had 100 troops, now you have a thousand troops. You need ration, storage for thousand people. Let’s say if tomorrow something critical comes up, then you have another 200 people coming in. Now you have to arrange for their stay also, their ration and their fighting capabilities…Both sides are doing this,” he told ANI.
Recently, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri had visited Beijing to talk with Chinese officials and discussed the next steps of bilateral relations, including in the political, economic, and people-to-people domains.
India and China had reached an agreement in October on patrolling arrangements in the Depsang Plains and Demchok, two friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The understanding was reached after earlier disengagement in other friction points in eastern Ladakh following meetings at diplomatic and military levels. (ANI)
