Newly sworn-in CoAS Gen Manoj Pande calls on Rajnath Singh

New Delhi, May 2: The newly sworn-in Chief of Army Staff (CoAS), General Manoj Pande called on Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at his office, on Monday. Chief of Army Staff (CoAS), General Manoj Pande. General Pande, who is the 29th Army Chief, took over as the new Chief of Army Staff on Saturday.

 

 

Pande, who belongs to the 117 Engineers Regiment of the Indian Army, is the first officer from the Corps of Engineers to become the Chief of Army Staff. He took over the charge from General Manoj Mukund Naravane in a brief ceremony at the South Black.

 

 

 

Asserting that the Indian Army had adequately responded to the Chinese efforts to change the status quo on the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh, the newly appointed Army Chief General Manoj Pande has made it clear that the Army Forces will not permit any change in the status quo and any loss of territory. 

 

 

Speaking on the India-China border conflict, General Manoj Pande said, "The situation at the LAC is normal. The unilateral and provocative actions by our adversary to change the status quo by force. I feel have been adequately responded to. Our troops are holding important physical positions. We are very clear that we will not permit any change in the status quo and any loss of territory." 

 

General Pande said that "our focus has also been infrastructure development, especially habitat to match the operational and logistics requirement". "In the end, our aim is to reduce the tension along the LAC and restoration of status quo as it was earlier," he said. Notably, India and China have been engaged in a border dispute along LAC in eastern Ladakh since May-June 2020 after China increased its aggression. Since then, both sides have deployed troops opposite each other all along the border.

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On the situation of LoC, the Army chief said the situation for the civilian population on the ground on both sides of the LoC has improved but in terms of reduction in terrorist infrastructure and terrorist training camps, there is no evidence or sign of any improvement. "On the contrary, we find that the number of terrorists operating has increased. Whilst on the LoC, the infiltration and violence levels have gone down but in the hinterland, there is no indication of that effect," the Army chief said.