Army Chief Starts 2-Day Visit To Ladakh As Troops Move Out Of The Area
- India has always said that peace and quiet along the LAC were important for the overall growth of the two countries' relationships.
- India has always said that peace and quiet along the LAC were important for the overall growth of the two countries' relationships.
Army Chief Gen. Manoj Pande did a full review of the security situation in eastern Ladakh on Saturday. This was done two days after the Indian and Chinese militaries started pulling out of Patrolling Point 15 in the Gogra-Hotsprings area of the region.
The Army said that Gen. Pande saw Exercise Pravat Prahar and talked to officers and soldiers stationed in the area. During the exercise, artillery guns and other key weapon systems showed off their abilities to do their jobs.
“Gen. Manoj Pande, the Chief of Army Staff, went to the Ladakh Sector and saw Exercise PARVAT PRAHAR. Commanders on the ground told the COAS about how ready operations were. He talked to the officers and troops and praised them for their loyalty and professionalism,” the White House said in a tweet.
Gen Manoj Pande #COAS visited #LadakhSector and witnessed Exercise PARVAT PRAHAR. #COAS was briefed on operational preparedness by commanders on ground. He interacted with the officers & troops & complimented them for their steadfastness and professional standards. #IndianArmy pic.twitter.com/LPbkRmMODF
— ADG PI – INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) September 10, 2022
People who know about Gen. Pande’s visit say that he has been told about the new disengagement process and the overall combat readiness of the Indian Army in the region.
Commander of the Fire and Fury Corps in Leh, Lt. Gen. Anindya Sengupta, and other senior officials told Gen. Pande about the overall security situation, including the ongoing disengagement process in Patrolling Point 15.
On Sunday, Gen. Pande is set to go to Siachen.
The Indian and Chinese armies said on Thursday that they have started to pull out of Patrolling Point 15 in the Gogra-Hotsprings area of eastern Ladakh. This is a big step forward in the process that has been stuck for over two years to pull troops out of the remaining trouble spots in the area.
The standoff in the Demchok and Depsang regions has not moved forward yet.
The two armies said in a statement on Thursday that the 16th round of high-level military talks in July led to the start of the disengagement process in the Gogra-Hotsprings area.
Arindam Bagchi, a spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, said on Friday that the process of pulling out of Patrolling Point 15 will be done by Monday.
“According to the deal, the process of pulling out of this area began on September 8 at 8:30 a.m. and will be done by September 12. “The two sides have agreed to stop forward deployments in this area in a way that is phased, coordinated, and checked. This will lead to the troops of both sides going back to their own areas,” he said.
“It has been agreed that all temporary buildings and other infrastructure that both sides put up in the area will be taken down and checked by both sides.
“Both sides will change the land back to how it was before the standoff,” Bagchi said.
He said that the agreement makes sure that both sides will follow and respect the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in this area and that neither side will change the status quo on its own.
“With the end of the standoff at PP-15, both sides agreed to move the talks forward, solve the remaining problems along the LAC, and bring peace and quiet back to the border areas between India and China,” he said.
At first, about 30 soldiers from each side were fighting at PP-15, but the number of soldiers kept changing based on what was going on in the area as a whole. India has always said that peace and quiet along the LAC were important for the overall growth of the two countries’ relationships.
After a violent fight in the Pangong lake area on May 5, 2020, the eastern Ladakh border standoff began. Both sides added tens of thousands of soldiers and more powerful weapons to their positions over time.
After a series of military and diplomatic talks, the two sides finished separating from each other on the north and south sides of the Pangong lake and in the Gogra area last year.
In February of last year, India has always said that peace and quiet along the LAC were important for the overall growth of the two countries’ relationships.
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