India’s new army chief, General Manoj Pande, on Friday visited the forward areas along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh and took stock of the combat preparedness in the region where Indian and Chinese troops have been locked in a border stand-off over the past two years.

Sources said the army chief, who is on a three-day visit to Ladakh since Thursday, interacted with local commanders and troops and assessed the situation along the China frontier.

“During his maiden visit to Ladakh after assuming the reins on April 30, the army chief also reviewed the operational situation on the ground and undertook spot inspection of the habitat of troops on the forward lines along the LAC,” an army official said.

He said General Pande was given a detailed briefing about the ground situation at the multiple ingress points where the Chinese People’s Liberation Army has been occupying Indian territory.

The army chief also interacted with heads of the different army and IAF commands responsible for the 3,488km LAC — the de facto border with China — stretching from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh.

Sources said he also reviewed the deployment of formations along the LAC as well as the western border with Pakistan.

“China’s massive deployment along the LAC was deliberated at length,” another official said.

On Thursday, the army chief, accompanied by Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi, general officer commanding-in-chief (northern command), and Lt Gen. A. Sengupta, general officer commanding, Fire and Fury Corps, facing China had called on R.K. Mathur, the lieutenant governor of Ladakh.

They discussed issues related to civil and military cooperation and the role of Indian Army in development activities in the Union territory.

The Indian Army has established habitat facilities for its 50,000 additional troops deployed along the LAC amid the ongoing border standoff in the Ladakh sector since April-May 2020. This is the first time such a huge number of additional soldiers have been deployed in the forward areas of the LAC in the harsh terrain 12,000-14,000ft above sea level.

A recent ground assessment by India’s security establishment has suggested that the PLA has consolidated its military positions along the LAC in Ladakh.

So far, India and China have held 15 rounds of military talks but the PLA is said to have refused to restore the pre-April 2020 status in eastern Ladakh and pressed India to accept the altered frontier created by the Chinese transgressions.