India will not stop infrastructure development projects in strategic areas along the nearly 3,500-km Sino-India border inspite of Chinese attempts to stall them in areas like eastern Ladakh, PTI quoted government sources.
As the tense stand-off between the Chinese and Indian troops in Eastern Ladakh continues, top commanders of the Indian Army will carry out an in-depth review of the situation in several areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) at a three-day conference beginning today.
The main focus of the deliberations will be on the situation in eastern Ladakh where Indian and Chinese troops were locked in an eyeball-to-eyeball face-off in Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldie. In view of the nearly 20-day standoff between the two sides, the Indian Army has significantly ramped up its presence in sensitive border areas in North Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh besides Ladakh to send across a message that India will not be wilting under any aggressive military posturing by China, PTI reported.
Separately, Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat and the three service chiefs held a meeting with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Army Chief Gen M.M. Naravane is learnt to have apprised Singh about the current situation in the disputed areas.
Reports claimed that Singh has conveyed to the military brass that there was no need for reviewing the implementation of any of the key projects along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand or in Arunachal Pradesh in view of the aggressive behaviour by Chinese troops in several sensitive areas.
What is currently going on in Ladakh
The Chinese side has been particularly peeved at India laying a key road in the Finger area of Pangong Tso Lake area besides another road connecting the Darbuk-Shayok-Daulat Beg Oldie road in Galwan Valley.
In the last five years, India has been focusing on improving road and other key infrastructure along the LAC as part of efforts to bolster military preparedness to deal with any challenge from the Chinese side.
The border stand-off triggered on May 5, when around 250 Indian and Chinese army personnel clashed with iron rods, sticks, and even resorted to stone-pelting in the Pangong Tso lake area of Ladakh, in which soldiers on both sides sustained injuries. In a separate incident, nearly 150 Indian and Chinese military personnel were engaged in a face-off near Naku La Pass in the Sikkim sector on May 9. At least 10 soldiers from both sides sustained injuries.
The Indian Army has been matching up to the Chinese build-up in both Pangong Tso lake and Galwan Valley and it is in a much advantageous position in certain other sensitive areas in the region. The Chinese side has particularly bolstered its presence in the Galwan Valley, erecting around 100 tents in the last two weeks and bringing in heavy equipment for construction of bunkers, notwithstanding the stiff protest by Indian troops.
-Inputs from PTI