LAC clashes, ops

INDIAN and Chinese troops clashed at least twice between September 2021 and November 2022 along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), The Tribune has reported. During this 15-month period, India conducted a series of covert operations aimed at keeping a watch on the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). These clashes and operations — previously unreported — came to light when citations for gallantry awards were read out during the investitures organised by the Western and Central Army Commands.

It is imperative to maintain the secrecy of such operations in the interests of national security. The Army has taken prompt action to ensure that a video clip which revealed classified information is no longer available in the public domain. Even as the slip-up needs to be probed thoroughly, it is evident that there has been no let-up in the border tensions in recent years, after the Galwan clash of June 2020. Last year, a Pentagon report had claimed that China increased the deployment of forces and ramped up infrastructure, including ‘underground storage facilities near Doklam, a second bridge over the Pangong lake, a dual-purpose airport and multiple helipads’, along the LAC in 2022.

Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande said recently that the LAC situation was ‘stable but sensitive’. Amid a prolonged standoff, India cannot afford to lower its guard. A vigil has to be maintained round the clock in order to pre-empt any misadventure by the PLA. China is keen to gain tactical superiority by making India blink first. New Delhi needs to respond to any provocation cautiously yet firmly. It is laudable that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has told his Chinese counterpart that ‘unless a solution is found at the border, they should not expect other relations to move on normally’. The onus is on Beijing to take sincere steps to resolve the LAC dispute and pave the way for putting the bilateral ties back on track.