Army rushed into more troops, weapons to bases along the real line of control (representation)
New Delhi:
Indian army and aviation front-line bases along the nearly 3,500 km border with China were put on high alert on Wednesday due to the worst border clash between Indian and Chinese troops in the Galwan valley which left 20 dead and several injured, according to government sources.
The Indian Navy has also been asked to raise its alert level in the Indian Ocean region where the Chinese Navy makes regular incursions.
The Indian army has already dispatched additional troops and weapons to all of its key front line bases and formations along the Line of Effective Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh, they said.
“The rules of engagement will be different from now on. The Prime Minister clarified the general policy on this subject,” a senior military official told the PTI on condition of anonymity.
By sending a strong message to China, Prime Minister Modi said that India wanted peace but was able to give a suitable response if it was provoked. It was his first reaction to the violent clashes in the Galwan Valley.
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the evening and learned that he had informed him of the measures taken to strengthen the military forces along the LAC to deal with any eventuality.
The Indian Air Force has raised the alert level at all of its front-line bases monitoring the LAC, the sources said.
The decision to raise the alert level of the three forces was taken at a high-level meeting of Defense Minister Rajnath Singh with the Chief of the Defense Staff, General Bipin Rawat and the three heads of service, sources said.
They said the navy is increasing its deployment to the Indian Ocean region to send a strong message to the Chinese navy.
The clash in the Galwan Valley on Monday night is the biggest confrontation between the two soldiers after their 1967 clashes in Nathu La in 1967, when India lost around 80 soldiers while more than 300 Chinese soldiers were killed.
Sources said the military will respond with a “firm approach” to any act of aggression by the Chinese military from now on.
They said the Indian navy should also take an aggressive approach to Chinese naval incursions in the Indian Ocean region.
