Addressing the army personnel on the occasion of Army Day, Naravane reiterated that India has zero-tolerance against terrorism. "Abrogation of Article 370 is a historic step which will connect Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of the country. The decision has adversely affected the plans of western neighbour and its proxies. We have zero-tolerance against terrorism. We have many options to give a reply to terrorists and will not hesitate to use them," he said.
His visit comes ahead of the upcoming official trip of Indian Army chief Gen M M Naravane to Nepal in the first week of November. Goel called on Prime Minister Oli at his official residence at Baluwatar on Wednesday evening, the premier's press advisor Surya Thapa told PTI.
India on Thursday blamed China's actions of amassing a large number of troops close to the border and attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) last year for the continuing military standoff in eastern Ladakh, and asserted that these acts were in violation of Sino-India bilateral agreements.
'The Galwan Valley clashes helped us prioritise our national security approach towards the northern border'
The sources said Singh will carry out a comprehensive review of the security situation in the region with Gen Naravane, Northern Army Commander Lt Gen Yogesh Kumar Joshi, Commander of the 14 Corps Lt Gen Harinder Singh and other senior army officials.
It was decided that the senior-most Army officer in a state would get in touch with the chief minister to understand the requirement and take forward the process, including offering to treat civilians wherever possible
The dedication of Indian soldiers and veterans towards the country is an 'exemplary example', Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Sunday soon after arriving in Ladakh on a three-day visit aimed at taking stock of India's military preparedness in the region in the face of a prolonged border row with China.
In the Army headquarters, the wings handling military operations, military intelligence, operational logistics and strategic movement will carry out their functions with bare minimum staff strength till April 19, according to the order. Within the command headquarters, wings handling manpower, logistics and operations will only function with skeletal staff.
They said the Indian Army has further bolstered its presence around the Southern Bank area of Pangong lake by deploying additional troops and bringing in more weaponry including tanks and anti tank guided missiles.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held two-back-to-back meetings with top military brass on Tuesday deliberating on the situation in eastern Ladakh after an Indian Army officer and two soldiers were killed in a violent clash with Chinese troops in Galwan Valley.
India and China on Friday agreed to hold the next round of military talks at an early date to achieve the objective of complete disengagement in remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh amid fresh sparring between the two sides on the prolonged Line of Actual Control (LAC) standoff.
India on Friday said the onus is on China to address the remaining unresolved issues relating to the eastern Ladakh row and that peace and tranquillity along the frontier were key for the restoration of normal relations between the two sides.
Chinese military has also deployed a sizeable number of its troops in Galwan Valley, the site of the violent clashes on June 15 that left 20 Indian soldiers dead.
The Indian Armed Forces will express their gratitude to all "corona warriors" by conducting fly-pasts, showering petals on hospitals treating COVID-19 patients and illuminating naval vessels, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat said on Friday.
The focus of the deliberations was on finalising modalities for disengagement of troops in eastern Ladakh.
Sources said India will not lower its guard and will maintain the current state of very high-level of combat readiness in eastern Ladakh till there are visible changes in the ground situation.
General M M Naravane attended the Army Day parade for the first time as the Army chief. The Army Day is celebrated on January 15 every year to mark Lieutenant General K M Cariappa taking over as commander-in-chief of the Indian Army in 1949 from General Francis Butcher, the last British commander-in-chief of India.
On May 5, around 250 Indian and Chinese army personnel clashed with iron rods, sticks, and even resorted to stone-pelting in Pangong Tso lake area in Eastern Ladakh.
He said there were no signs of an "overt collusion" between China and Pakistan during the Ladakh standoff but India also caters to a long term strategy for not a two, but a two-and-half front war. With the half front, he was referring to the internal security.
External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said India is committed to resolve all issues through dialogue, noting the way ahead to address the issue is negotiations.
Singh said if there is an attempt to hurt the self-respect of India, then it will not be tolerated and will be given a 'befitting reply'. "Whatever progress has been made in the talks, there should be a resolution of the matter. But to what extent it will be resolved, I cannot guarantee."
Army chief General Naravane said the ongoing dialogue will sort out all the perceived differences between the two countries.
India and Pakistan have agreed to strictly observe all agreements on ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) and other sectors, according to a joint statement on Thursday.
Both the Indian and Chinese armies have brought in more troops in sensitive locations like Demchok, Daulat Beg Oldie and areas around Galwan river as well as Pangong Tso lake in Ladakh, the sources said. The area around Galwan has been a point of friction between the two sides for over six decades.
India's top military and strategic brass on Tuesday reviewed the overall situation in eastern Ladakh amid indications that the latest round of talks between senior military commanders of Indian and Chinese armies on the next phase of disengagement of troops may not have produced encouraging results, people familiar with the developments said.
'They also agreed that for the overall development of bilateral relations it was essential to maintain enduring peace and tranquillity in the border areas,' the MEA said in a statement.
This is the first such incident along the border with China that Indian armed forces personnel have been killed after a gap of nearly 45 years.
The joint statement said Jaishankar and Wang agreed that both sides should take guidance from the series of consensus reached between leaders of the two countries on developing India-China relations, including not allowing differences to become disputes.