'Stable But Not Normal': Army Chief On Border Situation with China in Eastern Ladakh

When asked if China was the biggest security challenge, Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi said that “the situation with China is stable, but is not normal and is sensitive”. He further said that they are fully operationally prepared to meet any contingency.

New Delhi:Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi on Tuesday described the situation at the India - China border as "stable but not normal" and remains "sensitive". He was speaking at the Chanakya Defence Dialogue organised by the Centre for Land Warfare Studies. The Army Chief was asked if China was the biggest security challenge to which the General said “The situation with China is stable, but is not normal and is sensitive”.

"...As far as China is concerned, it has been intriguing our minds for quite some time. With China, you have to compete, cooperate, coexist, confront, and contest... So what's the situation today? It's stable, but it's not normal and it's sensitive," he said.

He also added " We want the situation to be restored back to what it was before April 2020, whether in terms of the ground occupation situation or the buffer zones which have been created or patrolling which have been kind of planned as of now. So until that situation is restored, as far as we are concerned, the situation will remain sensitive and we are fully operationally prepared to face any kind of contingency." General Dwivedi said the trust between Indian and Chinese forces at the LAC has become the "biggest casualty".