Army chief briefs Rajnath Singh over ground situation in Ladakh

Army Chief General MM Naravane on Friday briefed Defence Minister Rajnath Singh about the ground situation in eastern Ladakh. This comes after Army Chief visited the area where the recent faceoff between the two nuclear-equipped countries took place.

New Delhi: Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane on Friday met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and briefed him about the ground situation in the Ladakh sector. The Army Chief was on a two-day visit to Eastern Ladakh where he visited forward areas near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and reviewed the operational preparedness in the sector.

In the ongoing dispute along the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh sector, China has moved back some of its troops and vehicles to depth areas in Galwan Valley following the meeting with the Indian side on June 22, sources said to a news agency.

"On June 22, the Chinese side had given assurance that they will move back troops from the front to the depth areas. In this regard, some troops and vehicles were moved back by them in the Galwan area," added source to a news agency.

The step was taken by both sides as they wanted to avoid a repeat of June 15 violent face-off as the troops were in close vicinity. The June 22 meeting between Indian Army's 14 Corps Commander Lt Gen Harinder Singh and his Chinese counterpart took place at Moldo after which there was a consensus for mutual disengagement.

The commander-level talks were held after a violent face-off between Indian and Chinese troops in Galwan Valley in Ladakh on June 15 in which New Delhi had lost 20 of its soldiers. After the clash, Indian intercepts had revealed that the Chinese side suffered 43 casualties including dead and seriously injured.

India has said that the situation could have been avoided if the agreement at the higher level been scrupulously followed by the Chinese side. India said on Thursday that deployment of a large number of troops by China and changes in behaviour along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) has also been aggravated by unjustified and untenable claims and a continuation of the current situation would only vitiate the atmosphere for the development of the relationship.

(ANI)