Army conducts aerial exercises in Siliguri Corridor, while Gen Naravane reviews war game for China’s front

NEW DELHI: In a strategic gesture to China, the Army on Friday conducted a major `air penetration and rapid response’ exercise in the Siliguri Corridor, even as General MM Naravane fought a separate strike corps. which was re-oriented to the northern borders. ,
The military is “focused on the challenges” along the 3,488-km-long Line of Actual Control (LAC) amid a 21-month-long military confrontation in eastern Ladakh, though the world’s attention – including US-led Western nations – may be facing the Ukraine crisis. has been turned towards.
“The situation in Ukraine must be viewed in the context of similar efforts that may be made by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) along our fought northern borders. At no stage can we focus on the northern borders, A senior Army officer told TOI.
In this direction, General Naravane assessed the role and operational plans of the Mathura-based 1 Strike Corps, which has around 70,000 troops and heavy weapons. As the primary front for the LAC, the Corps has been “rebalanced”, with a focus on combat fighting capabilities in high altitude areas, from its previous role on the Western Front along Pakistan.
“This is the result of regular threat assessments and internal consultations in keeping with the army’s mandate to ensure territorial integrity and to carry out major enhancements to PLA forces and military infrastructure. At the same time, effective combat capability has been retained on the Western Front.
The Army is also working to reduce the threat to the strategically vulnerable Siliguri Corridor, the narrow strip of land that connects the Northeast with the rest of India, which also came into focus during the 73-day face-off in Doklam . Sikkim-Bhutan-Tibet tri-junction in 2017. Indian troops then blocked the PLA’s attempt to extend its motorable track towards Jampheri Ridge, which overlooks the Siliguri Corridor.
The aerial exercise there on Friday saw a large number of “combat free-fallers” being cast from an altitude of 20,000 feet, as well as logistics supply loads from IAF aircraft onto precision-guided platforms.
Free-fallers then set up surveillance positions to guide precise fire at selected enemy positions. Thereafter an air force of 400 Special Forces personnel was deployed in rapid succession to rapidly capture the objectives identified for the exercise.
While 1 Corps is now moving towards the northern region of the LAC, 17 Corps based at Panagarh is concentrating on the strike role in the eastern sector including the Chumbi Valley opposite Sikkim.
“The ongoing situation with China warrants that the Army re-aligns the operational task of its Reserve Formation to focus on the northern frontiers. The various situations and responses of the 1st Corps were battled on Friday, as well as taking appropriate lessons from various modern conflicts around the world,” the senior official said.