Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a meeting with the top brass of the Indian armed forces on Sunday. The meeting was attended by Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, Army Chief Gen MM Naravane, Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh and Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria. Government sources said after the meeting that after a review of the situation with China, the armed forces deployed at the de-facto border were given ‘full freedom’ to give a ‘befitting’ reply to any Chinese misadventure.
The defence minister told the service chiefs to keep a watchful eye on Chinese activity at and around the land border, airspace and strategic sea lanes. Rajnath Singh asked them to adopt a tough approach.
Indian and Chinese armies have been on a six-week standoff in several areas of eastern Ladakh. The ties between the two countries came under severe strain after Chinese military killed 20 Indian Army personnel and injured around 76 in a violent clash in Galwan Valley on June 15.
China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has not yet talked about the number of casualties it suffered.Army, as well as the IAF, have already been ramping up their operational capabilities along the LAC to effectively deal with any Chinese misadventure.
