Addressing the media ahead of Army Day, Army Chief General MM Naravane said, on Wednesday, that the Chinese threat in the northern border has not reduced in any way despite partial disengagement at multiple friction points.

Earlier on Wednesday, Indian and Chinese Corps Commanders met for the 14th round of discussions to resolve the 21-month-long standoff in eastern Ladakh.

General MM Naravane pointed out with conviction that China’s land boundary law that came into force on January 1 is not legally binding on India. 

“This law will have no bearing on our bilateral relations and we do not accept it as such,” he said. “India and China have many other agreements and protocols which predate this new law that they have passed. And any new law which is not binding on other countries and which is not legally tenable and is not in keeping with the agreements that we have had in the past, obviously cannot be binding on us.”

Passing the boundary law, China claimed that “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the People’s Republic of China are sacred and inviolable”. Resultantly, the Chinese position raised concerns among Indian authorities that it could have a bearing on the dispute along the Line of Actual Control.

Gen Naravane said the situation along the LAC “is stable and under control”. He added, however, that India is in a position “to meet whatever is thrown at us in the future”.

Speaking about the sensitive topic of going to war, the army chief general maintained, “war or conflict is always an instrument of last resort, but if resorted to, we will come out victorious.”

On the talks with China on Wednesday, Naravane said, “we are hopeful that we will be able to resolve the issues at PP15 (Hot Springs), which is the one which is pending as of now.”

Once that issue is resolved, India will go on to the other issues which pre-date the current standoff, he added, while saying that India is hopeful that other issues will get resolved with time.

The two other unresolved points are Depsang Plains, where Chinese troops are blocking Indian soldiers from accessing their five traditional patrolling points, and Demchok, where some “civilians” have pitched tents on the Indian side of the LAC.

The talks began on Wednesday morning on the Chinese side of the Chushul-Moldo border personnel meeting point. The Indian side was led by XIV Corps commander Lt Gen Anindya Sengupta, and the Chinese side by Maj Gen Yang Lin, commander of South Xinjiang Military District.

Stressing on the need for dialogue, he said it is unreasonable to expect an outcome after every round of discussions.

“A number of rounds will be required to deal with this situation and resolve them, one at a time,” said the Army Chief. “While we say that, while there has been partial disengagement, the threat has in no way reduced. The force levels are more or less the same, and from our side they have been enhanced.”

During the press briefing, Naravane talked about a range of issues including the botched Army ambush in Nagaland, the state of the borders with Pakistan and Myanmar, and the situation in J&K. He said the Court of Inquiry is expected to submit in a day or two its report about the December 4 Army operation in Nagaland that left seven civilians dead. Terming the episode “highly regrettable”, he said, “based on the findings of the inquiry, appropriate action will be taken. I would like to clarify that the law of the land is paramount, and we will always uphold that, and will take action as required in upholding the law of the land. Appropriate action will be taken and corrective measures instituted, based on the outcome of the investigation.”

Chief Gen Naravane also said that the army would want to “progressively increase the number of Assam Rifles battalions for border guarding” of the boundary with Myanmar.

He flagged an “increase in concentration of terrorists in various launchpads” and “repeated attempts at infiltration” along LoC, despite ceasefire with Pakistan.