Gen Manoj Pande during his news conference in New Delhi, on January 11, 2024. (Photo: India Sentinels)
New Delhi: The Indian Army chief, General Manoj Pande, described the situation in the northern borders as “stable but sensitive” while the situation in the India-Myanmar border in Manipur as “concerning”. Gen Pande said this during his pre-Army Day annual news conference, on Thursday. The nation marks the Army Day on January 15 each year.
Speaking on the situation along the line of actual control between India and China, especially in eastern Ladakh, Gen Pande said New Delhi continues to talk at diplomatic and military levels with Beijing and India’s preparedness is at the highest level to deal with all challenges.
It may be recalled that Indian and Chinese troops have been in a tense stand-off in eastern Ladakh since May 2000 and each side has deployed thousands of troops and military hardware in a large-scale military build-up. Even in the eastern sector, Indian and Chinese troops were involved in non-lethal clashes along the LAC in the last couple of years.
However, on the Manipur situation, the Army chief expressed his concerns on the ongoing violence and the influx of Myanmar nationals including insurgents operating in the country into India due to the ongoing civil war in the country.
He said India is closely watching the situation across the India-Myanmar border. He said, “That has been of concern to us. You are aware of the activities of the Myanmar army and the ethnic armed organizations and PDF (People’s Defence Forces) in the past couple of months.” He then added, “That, combined with the situation in Manipur, is something we are keeping a close watch on.”
The Army chief also informed that until now, a total of 416 Burmese army deserters entered India along with civilians [for their safety]. He also said that 30 per cent of the weapons that violent mobs looted from state police armouries during the ongoing ethnic strife in Manipur have been recovered.
On the Jammu & Kashmir security situation, especially in the backdrop of a spate of deadly militant ambushes on the Army in the Poonch-Rajouri sector, Gen Pande said while the situation in the valley is getting normal, the situation in Rajouri and Pooch area is a cause of concern. He said 45 terrorists have been killed in the last three years while five terrorist infiltration attempts [by terrorists from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir] have been foiled.
Earlier, in his address to the Indian Army, the general said the Indian force has a vital role to play in ensuring a stable and secure environment for the country’s progress. He said the service has set into motion a “holistic transformation process” to prepare itself for the future.
He said the aim of this transformation was to make the Army a modern, agile, adaptable, technology-enabled future-ready force. He also said the Indian Army will observe the year 2024 as the “Year of Technology Absorption”.
