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(TibetanReview.net, Oct13’24) –India’s Defence Minister, Mr Rajnath Singh, has on Oct 11 expressed cautious optimism about ongoing diplomatic-military talks with China, while emphasizing that troop disengagement was key to resolving tensions.
India remains “cautiously optimistic” about the ongoing diplomatic-military talks with China to resolve the troop standoff in the eastern Ladakh border with Tibet, business-standard.com Sep 12 quoted Singh as saying Oct 11.
Singh has also expressed full confidence in the Indian Army’s ability to handle any situation should tensions escalate along the border.
Speaking at the Army Commanders’ Conference in Gangtok, capital of the Tibet-border state of Sikkim, Singh has made it clear that progress of discussions with China would be contingent on “actual progress” being made on the ground, specifically with the disengagement of troops in eastern Ladakh.
While China is said to be stubbornly reluctant to withdraw from the two remaining conflict points in eastern Ladakh, namely Depsang and Demchok, India has been advocating for a phased process, starting with troop disengagement there. This should be followed by de-escalation and eventually the withdrawal of the 50,000 Chinese troops stationed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the region, if normalcy in bilateral ties are to be restored.
Singh has spoken by video conference, which was chaired by General Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of the Army Staff, from Sukna in Darjeeling as he could not travel to Gangtok as scheduled due to bad weather.
The choice of Gangtok as the conference location was stated to be symbolic, signalling India’s readiness in the eastern sector, where China has also increased its military presence by deploying 90,000 additional troops.
General Dwivedi had earlier this month described the situation along the LAC as “stable but sensitive and not normal”, noting that “trust has become the biggest casualty” in India’s relationship with China.
He has added that while political-diplomatic efforts had generated some “positive signalling” in recent months, implementation depended on military commanders on the ground.
Given this situation, the Indian Army will continue to maintain its forward positions in preparation for the fifth consecutive winter in the harsh terrain of eastern Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh, and Sikkim, the report said.
Singh has called on the Indian armed forces to continuously modernise and adapt to emerging threats.
On Oct 12, Singh inaugurate several Border Road Organization projects in Sikkim, including 22 roads, 51 bridges, and two additional projects, totalling Rs 2,236 crore. These include 19 projects in Jammu and Kashmir, 18 in Arunachal Pradesh, 11 in Ladakh, nine in Uttarakhand, and six in Sikkim, the report added.
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