China border row: India prepared for any military option, says CDS Rawat

New Delhi: India's armed forces are prepared to look at any military option if the extensive talks to restore status quo ante along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) did not yield any positive result, Chief of Defence Staff(CDS) Gen Bipin Rawat has said on the prolonged border standoff with China in eastern Ladakh.

Gen Rawat, who has been part of the top military brass strategising on the Sino-India border issue, said a "whole of government" approach is being followed to peacefully resolve the row. The armed forces are always prepared for military actions if all efforts to restore status quo ante along the LAC don't "fructify," the CDS said when asked about the over three-month-long border row.

Gen Rawat, who was the Chief of Army Staff from December 2016 to December 2019, said the transgressions take place along the LAC because of varying perceptions about it by the two countries.

India and China have held several rounds of military and diplomatic talks in the last two-and-half months but no significant headway has been made for a resolution to the border standoff.

On Thursday, the two sides held another round of diplomatic parleys following which the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said they had agreed to resolve outstanding issues in an "expeditious manner" and in accordance with the existing agreements and protocols.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Gen Rawat and the three service chiefs are regularly meeting to review India's military preparedness in eastern Ladakh as well as to take measures in sync with the evolving situation in the region.

At the military talks, the Indian Army has been strongly insisting that restoration of the status quo ante of April this year by China is the only way to resolve the row, according to government sources.

There is a growing view in the Army that the Chinese military is not serious about the resolution of the border conflict as it is resorting to "back and forth" negotiations while the Indian side has very clearly conveyed about its position on the matter. Sources said notwithstanding the border row, India has been carrying on with the work on laying new roads in the Ladakh region besides developing other key infrastructure.