Eye on LAC: Indian Army begins reviewing combat readiness amid military standoff with China

New Delhi: With no sign of de-escalations in the ongoing three-year military standoff with China in eastern Ladakh, top Indian Army generals begin five-day conference to extensively review the operational situation, combat readiness and infrastructure along the LAC. The Army Commanders’ Conference (ACC) will be chaired by General Manoj Pande. India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will be addressing the conference on Wednesday (19 April) where he will also review an equipment display focussing on niche technology, innovation, solutions for surveillance, artificial intelligence, training, robotics, virtual reality and operational logistics. India-China border standoff During the ACC, top Indian defence officers will also “brainstorm the current and emerging security scenarios” and get an update on the tri-service Andaman and Nicobar Command. The operational preparedness along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the three sectors - western (Ladakh), middle (Uttarakhand, Himachal) and eastern (Sikkim, Arunachal) - will be analysed amid reports of China strengthening its military positions and infrastructure along the frontier. “A talk on future contours of Indo-China relations” is also planned by Vijay Gokhale, former Ambassador to China. For the first time, the ACC is being held in a hybrid format, with the commanders-in-chief of the different commands in the country meeting virtually on Monday and then travelling to capital New Delhi. National security challenges along borders with Pakistan During the ACC, the top defence commanders of India will review in detail the country’s national security challenges along the borders with Pakistan and ways to enhance the combat capability. The conference will also focus on the ongoing reform process in the 1.3 million-strong force and the use of high technologies including artificial intelligence, robotics and virtual reality for various purposes. The Army’s plan as part of ‘Year of Transformation-2023’ along with progress on the Agnipath scheme and ambitious digitisation and automation initiatives will also be discussed in the five-day conference. Bathinda killings to be a key focus The top commanders will discuss the mysterious shootout inside the Bathinda military cantonment on Wednesday (12 April) that saw four sleeping soldiers being gunned down. An Army jawan was arrested in connection with the killing of the soldiers. Held twice a year, the ACC plans and executes process of the Indian Army that undertakes a 360-degree look at the current emerging perspectives on issues relating to operations, logistics, administration, human resources and welfare. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.