New Delhi: Relegated to the drawing board till now, a two-front war threat posed by the 'iron brothers' is suddenly threatening to become real amid escalating tension with China and ongoing border clashes with Pakistan. That is what will occupy centre-stage when the top commanders of the Indian Army meet for four days in New Delhi from Monday to Thursday (October 26-29).
China and Pakistan love to call themselves 'iron brothers' in an apparent reference to their decades-old 'all-weather' relationship.
Sources told ETV Bharat that with the growing possibility that developments may even take a turn towards the worse on the China front, the army top brass will review the ongoing preparations keeping in view the simultaneous threat perceptions from both China and Pakistan.
"With emergency procurement powers given after the border row escalation with China since May, India has bought substantial military equipment from abroad. The procurements will be reviewed to ensure adequate availability, deficiencies will be identified and urgent steps will be taken be it to procure more military systems, platforms, weapons and ammunition if need be," a source said.
The other issues that will be taken up include the imminent 'theater-isation', integration, and ongoing modernization of the armed forces, besides the regular HR and administrative issues.
Read: Soldiers shiver in Ladakh as ‘special’ jackets gather dust in Delhi
India-China bilateral ties have plummeted since April-May after a series of border clashes between the two Asian giants from eastern Ladakh to north Sikkim to Arunachal Pradesh. The worst incident took place on June 15 in eastern Ladakh’s Galwan Valley when 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a brutal hand-to-hand fight between the two sides. China is yet to declare the number of its dead.
The worsening ties have resulted in the biggest military mobilization the region has seen with more than 1,00,000 soldiers deployed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China across east Ladakh.
On the other hand, exchange of gunfire across the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan is a regular affair.
While it was a particularly torrid time for Indian and Pakistani forces on the LoC from 1996 to 2002, a comprehensive ceasefire pact in November 2003 put an end to the regular incursions and gunfights. The traditional enmity was further curtailed in 2004 by the laying of a concertina-wired fence across the length of the LoC.
Read: ‘When soldiers trained for winter war on frozen Pangong Lake’
But after September 18, 2016 attack by Pakistan-backed militants on an Indian Army base in Uri in Kashmir, India hit back very strongly on September 28-29 when Indian troops crossed into Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir to target areas used to gather terrorists killing many militants and Pakistani soldiers. Ever since the border areas on the two respective sides have witnessed unprecedented ceasefire violations.
Held twice a year, usually in March-April and in October, the Army Commanders Conference (ACC) is an important event in the planning and execution process of Indian Army that undertakes a 360 degree look at the current emerging perspectives on issues relating to operations, logistics, administration, human resources and welfare. The last time the Army commanders met was on June 23.
