LAC situation with China is stable but not normal: Indian Army chief Upendra Dwivedi

The Army chief said India wants the situation to be similar to what it used to be before April 2020.

Indian Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi has said that the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China is "stable but not normal".

Speaking at the Chanakya Defence Dialogue in New Delhi, the Army chief said that ties with China continue to be sensitive and India is fully prepared to deal with any contingency.

Asked about recent reports of progress with China along the LAC, he said: "The positive signalling is coming from the diplomatic side ... but we have to understand that the diplomatic side gives you the options and possibilities. When it comes to the execution on the ground, it depends on the military commanders from both the sides. So what's the situation today? It's stable but it is not normal and it is sensititve," he said.

The Army chief added that India wants the situation to be similar to what it used to be before April 2020.

"We want the situation to be restored to what it was before April 2020, whether in terms of the ground occupation situation or the buffer zones which have been created or patroling 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," he said.

He said that both sides have come a long way over a period of time by holding multiple rounds of diplomatic and military-level dialogues to resolve the tensions.

"We have come a long way. Whatever were the low hanging fruits, those have already been resolved. When it comes to the difficult situation ... both sides desire a win-win situation in any negotiation. Some kind of [positive] indication has been given by the diplomatic side from both the countries... now the military side will together and see how this can be translated on the ground," he said.

General Dwivedi added that "trust has become the biggest casualty" with China.

Ties between India and China nosedived after the Galwan Valley clashes in Eastern Ladakh in May 2020. The clashes led to the death of 20 Indian troops and an undisclosed number of Chinese soliders.

India has said that its ties with China cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areas.

A recent report in The Indian Express said that India and China have made “significant progress” on various issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.

According to the report, the progress includes exploring the options of a possible solution that factors in their respective pre-April 2020 positions and addressing existing issues in Arunachal Pradesh.

Last month, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said that almost 75% of the "disengagement problems" have been resolved with China but the major issue of increasing militarisation along the LAC continues to linger.