Army chief visits Uttarakhand border posts, reviews operational readiness

Army chief General Dhiraj Seth reviewed operational readiness and infrastructure in Uttarakhand's middle sector, calling for vigilance amid India-China border tensions

Army chief General Dhiraj Seth visited Mana and Joshimath in Uttarakhand, which borders China, on Tuesday. 

 

He reviewed the general operational preparedness and ongoing infrastructure development in the state that falls in the middle sector -- considered the least volatile part of the India-China border.

 

Interacting with the troops there, Seth emphasised the need for sustained operational vigilance to effectively address evolving security challenges, among other things, according to an Indian Army media statement. 

 

India and China are engaged in a "faceoff" in the eastern sector, along the border in Arunachal Pradesh, Shatrujeet Kapur, director general, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, recently said. The Ministry of External Affairs said on October 23 that the situation on the India-China border "gets disturbed from time to time when Chinese forces diverge from established patrolling patterns".

 

 

Business Standard earlier reported that tensions arose in the summer after locals in frontline villages in Arunachal spotted Chinese soldiers or graffiti in "undemarcated areas" along the border.

 

While the nature of the current "faceoff" is unclear, sources said on Tuesday that patrols in such areas -- with differing perceptions of the Line of Actual Control --  can last for days and involve night stays in mountainous and general terrains but the confusion is caused when "halting patrols" appear in the vicinity of locals on grazing grounds or in isolated places.