General Bipin Rawat reviews India’s military preparedness in Arunachal Pradesh

NEW DELHI:

Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat on Sunday said he was satisfied with the “high morale and motivation” of the armed forces personnel who will ensure “certain victory if challenged or given the opportunity”, after his two-day visit to various forwards posts near the Line of Actual Control in Arunachal Pradesh.

General Rawat’s visit to key locations in the frontier state came amid the nearly eight-month-long Sino-India border standoff in eastern Ladakh.

“CDS complimented soldiers for adopting innovative measures for surveillance through locally developed technology & the defence preparedness to face any challenge,” the Army said in a tweet.

“CDS said that he was satisfied by the high morale and motivation of all ranks who will ensure certain victory if challenged or given the opportunity,” it added.

The Chief of Defence Staff visited several key installations including “forward most air maintained” posts in Dibang Valley, Lohit sector and Subansiri valley since his arrival in the state on Saturday morning, according to the Army.

Sources said General Rawat reviewed the overall preparedness of the armed forces in key forward bases and asked them to remain vigilant.

The Army and the Indian Air Force have been maintaining a high state of operational readiness along the nearly 3,500-km Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China because of the eastern Ladakh standoff.

Nearly 50,000 troops of the Indian Army are deployed in various mountainous locations in eastern Ladakh, as multiple rounds of talks between the two sides have not yielded concrete outcome to resolve the faceoff that began in early May.

China has also deployed an equal number of troops, according to officials.

The eighth and last round of military talks had taken place on November 6, during which both sides broadly discussed disengagement of troops from specific friction points.