Chief of the Army Staff General M.M. Naravane acknowleges China building up troops in ‘considerable numbers’ along the LAC

General Naravane’s visit follows the second round of disengagement between India and China in early August when both sides pulled back their forward troops from Gogra point.

Chief of the Army Staff General M.M. Naravane has acknowledged that China is building up troops in “considerable numbers” along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The statement comes at a time when the opposition, particularly Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, is berating Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the handling of the eastern border.

General Naravane, who conducted a security review of forward areas in eastern Ladakh on Saturday and Sunday, said that China has built substantial infrastructure along the LAC. He, however, assured that the Indian Army was prepared for any eventuality and has upped deployment to match the Chinese troops.

“China has built a lot of infrastructure on its side to deploy more troops. We are monitoring so that we are ready to respond. We have inducted advanced weaponry. We are strong, we are ready to face any situation,” he said in an exclusive interview with a news channel.

General Naravane’s visit follows the second round of disengagement between India and China in early August when both sides pulled back their forward troops from Gogra point.

General Naravane said he was hopeful of easing the stalemate at the border. “Talks keep happening at all levels, 12 rounds have happened till now. The 13th round is expected soon. I’m hopeful that the remaining points will be cleared soon,” he said. According to him, negotiations are underway for pullback of troops at Hot Springs and talks on other friction areas such as Depsang and Demchok were likely to kickstart soon.

The developments come at a time the ceasefire between India and Pakistan has been violated. General Naravane took on Pakistan when he said that foreign terrorists were once again attempting to infiltrate the Line of Control (LOC) into India. “The ceasefire treaty was good but since the last two months, infiltration was attempted, which we have thwarted. These infiltrations are not possible without the Pakistan Army’s knowledge,” he said.