Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat on Tuesday, 22 June, said that the Chinese defence personnel have realised the need for enhanced preparation and training following the India-China offensive in Galwan Valley along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in 2020, news agency ANI reported.
Rawat was responding to a question regarding the new developments involving the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) along LAC when he said, "Chinese deployment on border with India has undergone a change, especially after incidents that happened in Galwan and other areas in May and June 2020. Thereafter, they realised that they need to be better trained and better prepared."
CDS Rawat added that the Chinese army isn't trained to fight in mountainous terrain of the Himalayas and are mainly enlisted for a brief duration.
“Their soldiers mainly come from the civilian street. They are enlisted for a short duration. They don’t have much experience of fighting in these kinds of areas and operating in this kind of terrain.”CDS Rawat, according to ANI
Meanwhile, he asserted that Indian soldiers are extensively trained in mountain warfare training and adept in fighting in these regions, adding that the Indian Army operates in mountains and continuously maintains its presence.
He said further, "We have to keep our guard and keep a watch on all activities of the Chinese forces. In doing so, we have to maintain presence along LAC," ANI quoted.
CDS Rawat was also questioned about the importance of the northern and western fronts, in view of the increased deployment in these regions.
To this he answered, "We have maintained a kind of posture that our troops deployed at northern borders are capable of functioning at western border and vice versa. Yes, we have committed some additional troops on the northern border as we find they are becoming more active and are a primary threat to us."
Twenty Indian soldiers were killed in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on 15 June 2020, amid violent clashes with Chinese.
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