A degree of stand-off with China prevails along Line of Actual Control: Army chief

Stating that a “degree” of standoff prevails along the Line of Actual Control, Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi said on Monday that he has authorized all Corps Commanders to handle issues at the ground level with respect to patrolling and grazing so that these trivial issues can be resolved at the military level itself. He termed the situation along the LAC as “sensitive but stable” and that the Army’s deployment along the border is “balanced and robust.” “All the Corps Commanders have been empowered to go through the patrolling and grazing issues and wherever you can harmonize relations between the two sides, you should be able to do. It means that both sides will remain back and will not go to the common areas because we still feel that if we meet at those places the violence level may go high.” After April 2020, the trust between the two countries has to have a new definition, he remarked and therefore, there is a requirement for us to sit together and come to a broader understanding of how we want to calm down the situation and restore the trust. All indicators show that people of J&K are shunning violence and it is being fully orchestrated by our adversary.” On the sensitive Siliguri corridor, also referred to as the Chicken’s neck and Chinese build up infrastructure near Doklam, the Army Chief that is the strongest point, not the weakest point.