India-China tension: Indian Army commanders to meet at Gangtok on Oct 10-11; first time in a forward area near LAC

New Delhi: Amidst the ongoing India-China border tension, top Indian Army commanders will meet at Gangtok for the next two days to review the force’s operational preparedness and brief Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on “security challenges and response".

Holding the biannual conference at Sikkim’s capital – first time in a forward area near the disputed Line of Actual Control – sends a message to Beijing as the two sides are engaged in a negotiation to iron out the thorny issues in eastern Ladakh.

Holding the conference of senior commanders at a forward location underlined the force’s focus on ground realities on the LAC, an official said, noting that the top brass would review current operational preparedness, deliberate on critical strategies and outline future directives.

The conference at the eastern state that witnessed a 73-day stand-off between the border guarding troops of India and China at Doklam comes at a time when there is a diplomatic thrust on finding solutions to the stalemate at eastern Ladakh that saw minimal forward movement since September 2022 when the last disengagement took place.

"The (LAC) situation is stable, but it is not normal and it's sensitive. We want the situation that was there pre-April 2020 should be restored," Chief of the Army Staff Gen Upendra Dwivedi said earlier this month.

At the Gangtok conference, discussions will focus on to have a multi-pronged national security strategy that incorporates integration of civil military fusion and the Diplomatic, Information, Military, and Economic (DIME) pillars to counter contemporary threats, besides the need for developing low-cost technologies and alternate strategies to counter the rapidly evolving character of warfare.

The second part of the commanders' conference will be held in Delhi on Oct 28-29 where geopolitical issues will the focus point.

On the eastern Ladakh stand-off, New Delhi and Beijing are engaged in discussions on legacy issues involving Depsang Plains, located close to the strategic Daulat Beg Oldie air strip, and Demchok. The friction points in these areas predate the June 2020 Galwan episode following which the Indian Army can’t access 26 of its 65 traditional patrolling points.