LAC situation not normal, trust biggest casualty: Army Chief

Army Chief Gen. Dwivedi discusses the stable but sensitive situation along the LAC with China and warns against grey zone tactics.

The situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China is “stable” but “not normal”, said Army Chief Gen. Upendra Dwivedi on Tuesday (October 1, 2024), adding that trust has been the “biggest” casualty. He also cautioned against Chinese “grey zone” warfare tactics.

He was speaking at the curtain raiser event for the Chanakya defence dialogue to be organised jointly by the Army and the Centre for Land Warfare Studies on October 24 and 25.

“The situation on the ground today is stable but it is not normal and it is sensitive. We want the situation that existed pre-April 2020 to be restored, whether it be the ground occupation/situation, the buffer zones that have been created or the patrolling that has been planned. Till the time that is not restored, as far as we are concerned, the situation will remain sensitive and we are operationally prepared to face any contingency… and in the entire gamut, we see that trust has been the biggest casualty,” Gen. Dwivedi said.

“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,” the Army Chief said.

On any possible movement in disengagement from the two remaining friction points, the Army Chief said whatever the “low hanging fruits” were, those had already been resolved. He spoke of finding a win-win situation on other difficult aspects. “So some kind of indication has been given from both the diplomatic sides. Now the military side will sit together and see how this can be translated on ground. What is on the table? Everything we can think of is on the table along the northern front, and it also includes Depsang and Demchok,” Gen. Dwivedi said.

On the situation in Manipur, the Army Chief observed that a rumour led to major violence. “Over a period of time, it has become a battle of narratives. There is polarisation between communities. The situation may be stable today, but it is tense.”

There was weaponisation of society to some extent due to stolen weapons, he said, of which around 25% had been recovered so far. He, however, said there were no drone bombs. He also refuted claims of infiltration by 900 anti-national elements.