Army Commanders to talk over China, reforms at conference to be held next week

New Delhi, Oct 19: Amid the India-China border standoff, the Army Commanders' Conference is scheduled to be held next week from October 26-29. They will be discussing the ongoing conflict with China and long-pending reforms about the Army.

 

 

 

The commanders will conduct talks over a slew of long-pending reform measures like cutting down on ceremonial practices and non-military activities to ensure a rational distribution of resources, at a four-day conference beginning October 26, official sources said. The discussions will also focus on enhancing the operational capability of the 1.3-million-strong force, they said. According to the reports, the conference will be chaired by Chief of Army Staff General MM Naravane, and all top commanders will attend it.

 

India has been engaged in a military stand-off with China for close to six months now. Both sides have indulged in violent face-offs too and the Indian side has made deployments to counter any possible Chinese aggression. There are also reports that the two sides are likely to have their eighth round of Corps Commander-level talks soon but the Indian side is awaiting the confirmation of dates by the Chinese.

 

There have been occasions where the Chinese have confirmed dates just 12-14 hours before the scheduled meeting but the Indian side conveyed to them that they would require a notice of at least 36 to 48 hours. The Chinese had been showing reluctance to hold parleys on all the disputed sites along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) but now the situation seems to have changed in view of the harsh winters.