Lt Gen Rana Pratap Kalita.
Kolkata: Eastern Army Command general officer commanding in chief Lieutenant General Rana Pratap Kalita said border areas in the northern frontier are stable and the Indian Army is firmly in control. According to an ET report, he also said both India and China were not developing any fresh infrastructure in the Doklam area near Sikkim.
He was speaking on the 51st anniversary of Vijay Diwas in Kolkata, on December 16.
It may be noted that in May 2020, Chinese troops entered the Indian side of the line of actual control and took control of a large swath of Indian territory. When Indian troops attempted to dislodge them, it led to a deadly fists-and-clubs brawl, which left 20 Indian soldiers dead, including a colonel. The Chinese side claimed four of its soldiers were killed in the incident, although experts say the figure is bound to be much higher given the number of soldiers involved from both sides and the hostile terrain.
On the December 9 clash between Chinese and Indian troops in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang sector, Gen Kalita said the transgressions by China’s People Liberation Army’s patrol (in the Yangtse area) was firmly and resolutely contested by Indian forces.
Read also: Indian and Chinese troops clash again at LAC in Arunachal, injuries reported on both sides
Reports said, in that clash that didn’t involve firearms, around 7–8 soldiers sustained injuries and they were treated in a Guwahati hospital.
