The Indian army chief said on Tuesday that India is currently facing atwo-front threat from Pakistan and China due to increased cooperationbetween the two countries.
“There is no doubt that Pakistan, China threat exists not just in theory,but very much on the ground. Their collusive approach against India poses achallenge,” said Manoj Mukund Naravane, the Indian Chief of Army Staff, atan annual conference in New Delhi.
He further claimed that Islamabad “continues to embrace terrorism. We havezero tolerance for terror. This is a clear message we have sent across.”
“We reserve our right to respond at a place and time of our choosing,” heunderlined.
Despite many successful operations to remove “terrorists” from the Jammuand Kashmir region, he added, the “terrorist organizations” continue tohire more.
On the situation with China at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), a de factoborder line between the two nations in the Ladakh region, Naravane said theChinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) mobilization in May last year was anannual affair.
“We were fully aware of their deployment but they had first movers’advantage. We had the same advantage in August when we surprised theChinese despite eyeball to eyeball confrontation,” he said.
Gen. Naravane added that the Indian Army is alert and ever ready to meetany challenges or eventuality on China border, but will find a solutionthrough dialogue.
He confirmed the recent movement of 10,000 Chinese soldiers back from thefrontlines.
“PLA troops from the depth areas of Tibetan plateau, who had come totraining areas have moved back so there is definitely a reduction. However,no change of posture has occurred on friction points,” he said.
On moving Indian soldiers from Jammu and Kashmir to the LAC, the army chiefsaid that these internal movements continue to happen. He further revealedthat even though there was a higher movement to high altitudes past year,the cold injury casualties increased only 0.15% from earlier 0.13%.
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He also denied any ground movement or any plans of envisage in Afghanistan.
Naravane also confirmed that the Indian Army is now pulling back its troopsfrom internal service duties in northeast India as the security situationhas improved, but the same will not happen in Jammu and Kashmir “as theterror continues.”
Disputed region
Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistanin parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is alsoheld by China.
Since they were partitioned in 1947, New Delhi and Islamabad have foughtthree wars – in 1948, 1965, and 1971 – two of them over Kashmir.
Also, in the Siachen glacier in northern Kashmir, Indian and Pakistanitroops have fought intermittently since 1984. A cease-fire took effect in2003.
According to several human rights organizations, thousands have reportedlybeen killed in the conflict since 1989.
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