Indian army chief says no reduction in troops along China border this winter

NEW DELHI: India's army chief on Monday said the country is not looking to reduce the number of troops along the northern frontier in winter and added that the summer deployment will be decided based on the outcome of negotiations with China. 

In 2020, 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers were killed during border clashes between the neighbours following which both sides stopped patrolling in several border points in Ladakh to avoid new confrontations while the countries moved thousands of troops and military equipment closer to the freezing mountainous region of the border. 

A deal between New Delhi and Beijing was signed in October 2023 to resolve the four-year military strike and few days later, troops were pulled back from the disputed border. 

"During winter deployment, the number of troops come down. So therefore, at least in the winter strategy, we are not looking forward to any reduction of troops," army chief Upendra Dwivedi told reporters in New Delhi.

Dwivedi said a decision on summer deployment would depend on how negotiations and talks with China progress.

"When it comes to the summer strategy, we'll take a review based on that time, how many negotiations and meetings have taken place," he said.

India and China share a poorly demarcated border which runs along the Himalayas and has been a source of tension between the neighbours for decades, including a brief but bloody war in 1962.

Ties stabilised after diplomatic talks and a series of pacts were reached from 1991 and trade and business links boomed until they were disrupted by the clashes in the summer of 2020.