On Leh visit, Army Chief tells jawans to 'remain vigilant' amid LAC faceoff

Chief of Army Staff, General MM Naravane, concluded a two-day visit to Leh on Friday and urged all ranks to remain vigilant and maintain a high order of operational readiness amid simmering tensions with Chinese side on contested Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.  COAS arrived at Leh a day earlier and proceeded to forward areas to undertake a firsthand assessment of situation along LAC.

According to an official statement, General MM Naravane interacted with soldiers and local commanders deployed in difficult high altitude forward areas.

"He appreciated ir high morale and standards of professionalism exhibited by units in safeguarding India's territorial integrity. COAS urged all ranks to remain vigilant and maintain a high order of operational readiness," it said.

Moreover, he stated that situation on LAC is slightly tensed and Army has refore stepped up precautionary deployment for safety and security. This has also been done in order to ensure that India's security and integrity remain safeguarded,  he told ANI.

Later, at Leh, Lt Gen YK Joshi, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, rrn Command and Lt General Harinder Singh, GOC, Fire and Fury Corps, briefed Army chief on state of operational preparedness and on logistics arrangements for sustenance of forces in winters. COAS expressed satisfaction on efforts being made to ensure operational effectiveness and capability enhancement of forces.

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On Thursday, IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal R.K.S. Bhadauria also made a visit at bases in Eastern Air Command, where he was apprised of readiness state and operational preparedness of combat units by respective air officers commanding.

tably,  Indian Air Force has deployed its assets, including frontline fighters and attack helicopters, in eastern Ladakh sector to tackle any hostile situation. From its frontline fighters like Su-30MKI to MiG-29, IAF has also deployed newly inducted Apache attack helicopters and Chiok strategic heavy-lift choppers.

Tensions flared in eastern Ladakh after PLA unsuccessfully attempted to occupy Indian territory in Sourn Bank of Pangong lake four days back when two sides were engd in diplomatic and military talks to resolve festering border row. India occupied a number of strategic heights on sourn bank of Pangong lake and strengned its presence in Finger 2 and Finger 3 areas in region to thwart any Chinese actions. Beijing has strongly objected to India's move.

'Talks only way forward for solution'

Meanwhile, India on Thursday said border tension in Ladakh over past four months is a "direct result" of Chinese actions aimed at effecting unilateral change in status quo of region and asserted that only way forward to resolve it was through negotiations. At an online media briefing, MEA Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said Chinese actions resulted in "violation" of bilateral agreements and protocol which ensured peace and tranquillity in border areas for close to three decades.

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