General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Command, Lt Gen R P Kalita, on Monday, said that the China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is continuously carrying out infrastructure work across the international border in Arunachal Pradesh. However, he also assured that Indian side is monitoring the situation closely and also upgrading its own capabilities in order to be prepared for anything. He also insisted that there is no intrusion happening along the border with China.
During the press conference, Kalita said, “Across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Tibet region, a lot of infrastructure development is going on. The other side is constantly upgrading their road, rail and air connectivity as well as 5G mobile network so that they are in a better position to respond to a situation or mobilise forces.” He also said that China is building what seems like border villages close to LAC, which can promote infrastructure and also stand in military operations.
Kalita acknowledged that while India is developing its own infrastructure and mechanism, its a challenging task because of the difficult terrain and harsh weather conditions.
Talking about border stand-offs, Kalita said that most of the problems are occurring because the border is not correctly demarcated, especially along the McMahon Line. When this is done, then there will be lesser clashes. “It has created different perceptions of the border between India and China that are not agreed upon by both sides. While most of the time, we handle the situation through existing mechanisms, at times it has led to frictions,” he said.
Kalita admired the military forces at the border, saying that the teams have shown great bravery and achieved notable victories in the past. “Last one year has been extremely eventful and we have been rising up to meet all challenges. We are ready to take on all challenges in future,” he stated.
