Indian Army chief tells troops to be prepared for any ‘eventuality’ amid border tensions with China

New Delhi: Amid the ongoing border tensions with China, Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane firmly told his commanders to be prepared for any “eventuality” and maintain the highest operational preparedness. He gave the remarks during his recent visit to the Tezpur-based 4 Corps, which looks after the China border with Arunachal Pradesh. “The Army Chief has told all his commanders to be prepared for any eventuality and maintain the highest level of operational preparedness on the front,” Army sources told ANI. The Army Chief was on a two-day visit to Eastern Command where he was briefed on the Indian and Chinese deployments and build up along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) there. The Chinese Army has maintained four to five Combined Armed Brigades, which are like the Integrated Battle Groups being planned to be set up by the Army for warfighting. The Indian Army has deployed around 40,000 troops along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh to tackle the heavy build up by the Chinese. The Chinese Army has also made significant deployments opposite Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh. During the talks with the Indian side, the Chinese are refusing to disengage from the Finger area completely and have been raising insignificant issues to buy time.