Army Chief General MM Naravane downplayed the clashes between troops of the Indian Army and China's People's Liberation Army in Eastern Ladakh and Sikkim, saying the two incidents which happened around the same time were not 'interconnected' or part of a bigger plan. Recent scuffles with China have no connection with domestic or international situation: Army Chief

NEW DELHI: Army Chief General M M Naravane on Wednesday sought to downplay the clashes between Indian and Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh and Sikkim, explaining that the two incidents which happened around the same time are not “interconnected” nor are they part of a “bigger plan”.

“Face-offs occur periodically with PLA. This happens due to the differences in perception of the way LAC runs. These face-offs have happened in the past. That is what has happened now. It is just a matter of chance that the face-offs occurred at the same time in Eastern Ladakh and Sikkim. We should not read too much into it. It is not part of any stand nor are these two face-offs interconnected. These face-offs are also not connected to any domestic or international situation,” Naravane said in an exclusive interview with ET.

The Army Chief explained that the face-offs occur when Indian and Chinese patrols come face to face. “We go up to our set patrolling points and they go to their set patrolling points. Number of times when both of us reach the same place at the same point of time, we both say to each other ‘why are you here?’. As far as we are concerned, it is a routine happening. These faceoffs happen 10 times a year in different places, such as Demchok in Eastern Ladakh, Naku La (in Sikkim) and Yangtse and Dichu (in Arunachal Pradesh). There are 10 to 15 places where these things happen,” he said.

He added that there is a protocol for troops to resolve these situations, such as a banner drill and telling the Chinese to go back to their territory. If the matter cannot be resolved here, the next level of dialogue is brought in.

The clashes at Ladakh and Naku La, Sikkim were resolved at the local formation commander level. Around a dozen troops from both sides were injured in Naku La that took place on May 9. Indian and Chinese troops were also injured in face-offs in Ladakh, which as reported by ET earlier occurred along the Pangong Tso lake and Galwan nallah. Both incidents witnessed stone pelting and fist fights between troops.

There is no build up of troops on both sides of the LAC in Ladakh, Naravane said. “Regular movement that happens at this time of year, that is what is happening. Our infrastructure development continues. It is part of a long term plan. We are building roads and bridges. This is part of the overall infrastructure plan. They are also developing infrastructure on their side. If some movement of vehicles is taking place it is part of this,” he explained.

When asked if the Chinese will object to the Indian infrastructure development along the border, Naravane said, “This is our territory. There is no reason for anyone to object. They are doing development on their side, we are doing development on our side. We don’t object to their development, why should they object to ours.”

“All these developments taking place are for the local population. We are here to serve our people. It is not for anyone to object for anything which is done for the upliftment of population at large,” he added.

Naravane said that the Rohtang tunnel, christened as the Atal tunnel, which will connect the people of Lahaul to the rest of India throughout the year and provide better connectivity to the security forces in reaching Ladakh, will be complete by September to October this year. “Other major infrastructure development includes the Sela tunnel (in Arunachal Pradesh) where work from both sides has commenced and the tunnel under the Brahmaputra in Guwahati,” he said.

Naravane also said that confidence building measures to diffuse tensions at the border can be improved upon. He said that DGMO (Director General of Military Operations) level hotline between the two armies is yet to be implemented. “The establishment of a DGMO hotline has been in a pipeline for a long time. Its translation on the ground has not happened, but we are working towards it. Various proposals are there to ensure things get diffused and the border remains calm,” he said.

Meanwhile, Naravane also said that the army is committed to Make in India. He said that in the previous financial year, 70 to 85 percent of the army orders were given to Indian companies. “We have signed a Rs 70 crore order with L&T for mine plows,” he said.

On being asked if the military CSD canteens will start giving Indian products, like how CAPF canteens have been asked to do so by Home Minister Amit Shah, Naravane said, “all CSD canteens have Indian products.”