Rajnath Singh reviews Ladakh situation; commanders given freedom to deal with any Chinese misadventure

With the armed forces on high alert along the entire 3,488 km long disputed boundary between India and China, the government has given “full freedom” to the local commanders to give a "befitting" response to any Chinese misadventure.

This was decided at a high level meeting on Sunday chaired by the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and attended by Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, Army Chief Gen MM Naravane, Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh and Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria.

The top brass took stock of the situation in eastern Ladakh and discussed the possibility of holding yet another Lt Gen rank officers’ meeting in near future to find out a peaceful way to end the face-off.

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Ever since the bloody and brutal battle at the Galwan valley in eastern Ladakh on Monday, India has mobilised more forces and brought in additional fighter jets, attack helicopters and tanks to defend the Line of Actual Control, the de-facto boundary between India and China.

Three divisions of the Indian Army comprising nearly 45,000 men are in Ladakh to deal with any contingency. While 3rd Division of the Indian Army is in Ladakh under normal circumstances, two more divisions have been acclimatised and brought in May and June to take up any new challenge that may emerge because of excess presence of China’s People Liberation Army troops in eastern Ladakh.

The clash in Galwan Valley, the worst cross-border violence in 45 years, significantly frayed ties between the two countries, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi sending a strong message to China that “India wants peace but if provoked, India is capable of giving a befitting reply”.

The battle resulted in killing of 20 Indian soldiers including an officer and injuring 76 others. Ten others including four officers were in Chinese captivity and were released after three days. According to the Union Minister and former Army Chief Gen V K Singh, 43 PLA soldiers were also killed in the clash making it the bloodiest confrontation on the LAC since the 1962 war.

In the Sunday meeting, Singh told the top military officers to maintain a strict vigil on Chinese activities around the land border, the airspace and in strategic sea lanes. Even though the troops are on high alert, efforts are being made by both sides to arrange another round of talks between senior military leaders next week to resolve the crisis.

Following the Galwan incident, military sources said Indian troops would no longer be bound by the long-held practice of not using firearms in face-offs as “rules of engagement” have been modified.

Earlier, the two armies had mutually decided not to resort to use firearms during face-offs in sync with provisions of two agreements on border management. The agreements were signed in 1996 and 2005. It has been decided to change that approach.

The IAF has moved its front line Sukhoi-30 MKI, Jaguar and MiG-29 fighter jets and Apache attack helicopters to forward bases including Leh and Srinagar in the last five days.

Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria on Saturday hinted that his force has flown combat air patrols in the Ladakh region as part of heightened preparedness. Under combat air patrols, fully armed fighter jets can be scrambled at short notice for specific missions.