Indian Army Chief warns against China’s tactics along LAC, says, ‘situation stable, but not normal’

Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi warned against China's "Grey Zone" tactics along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and stressed that despite the situation on the countries’ border remaining stable persistently, it however, was "not normal".

Army Chief General Dwivedi was addressing the curtain raiser of the Chanakya Forum Dialogue. 

He highlighted the key insights into India’s defence posture, regional stability, and the importance of joint military planning.

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He further stressed the need to compete, confront, and co-exist with China. 

“With China, you have to compete, cooperate, coexist, confront, and contest... So what's the situation today? It's stable, but it's not normal and it's sensitive. We want the situation to be restored back to what it was before April 2020, whether in terms of the ground occupation situation or the buffer zones that have been created or patrolling which have been kind of planned as of now. So until that situation is restored, as far as we are concerned, the situation will remain sensitive and we are fully operationally prepared to face any kind of contingency," said the army chief, adding that trust has become the biggest casualty.

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“War will come when it comes, but we must be ready during the period in between. Kargil, Galwan, Doklam -- these were not full wars, but examples of Grey Zone conflicts,” he added. 

He emphasised the need to have a common understanding to handle Grey Zone threats. “At every level, we need to have a common understanding and approach to handling Grey Zone threats,” Dwivedi concluded.

(With inputs from agencies)