“Have To Compete, Co-Exist, Confront, Contest With China”: Army Chief

New Delhi:

Highlighting the complex nature of dealing with tensions with China, Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi said that India must compete, cooperate, coexist, confront, and contest with China.

He stated, “As far as China is concerned, it has been intriguing our minds for quite some time. With China, you have to compete, cooperate, coexist, confront, and contest.”

“It’s stable, but it’s not normal and it’s sensitive. We want the situation to be restored back to what it was before April 2020, whether in terms of the ground occupation situation or the buffer zones that have been created,” he explained. He reiterated the military’s readiness, stating, “Until that situation is restored, the situation will remain sensitive, and we are fully operationally prepared to face any kind of contingency. Trust has become the biggest casualty.”

When asked about the progress of ongoing talks, Dwivedi shared that both sides have engaged in approximately 17 Corps Commander-level talks since April.

“We have come a long way. Now, when we have a difficult situation, both sides need to find a win-win solution,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, earlier in September, The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) provided an update on the current state of India-China relations, characterising them as ongoing dialogue and efforts to resolve tensions through the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) meetings.

MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has consistently addressed the relationship in various forums, emphasising transparency and providing regular updates on the progress of WMCC discussions.

Responding to a question on External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s statement that 75 per cent of disengagement problems between India and China have been resolved, Jaiswal said, “External Affairs Minister has spoken on India-China relations on several occasions. Recently, he spoke it in Berlin. He also spoke about it in New Delhi when he attended an event here. We have also been keeping you informed about the developments on our talks with the WMCC.”

Notably, Jaishankar during his visit to Geneva spoke about the relationship between India and China and said that “75 per cent of disengagement problems are sorted out.”

India and China held the 31st meeting of the WMCC in Beijing on August 29, and the two sides decided to jointly uphold peace and tranquillity on the ground in border areas in accordance with relevant bilateral agreements and protocols.

Since May 2020, when the Chinese troops tried to aggressively change the status quo on LAC in eastern Ladakh, both sides have been deployed in forward positions near Patrolling Point 15, which emerged as a friction point in the wake of the Galwan clash.

Over 50,000 Indian soldiers have been stationed since 2020 at forward posts along the LAC, with advanced weapons to prevent any attempts to change the status quo unilaterally on the LAC.

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