Confident that Army can deal with any contingency along LAC: Rajnath Singh

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday asked the top commanders of the Indian Army to maintain a strong vigil along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China as the situation in the northern sector remained "tense" due to the deployment of Chinese PLA troops.

In his address at the Army Commanders' Conference, Singh, referring to the eastern Ladakh border standoff, expressed full confidence in the Army to deal with any contingency while noting that ongoing talks for a peaceful resolution of the row will continue and that disengagement and de-escalation were the best way forward.

Singh said a "whole of the government" approach is being followed to ensure the availability of best weapons, equipment and clothing to the troops braving extreme weather and hostile forces to defend the country's territorial integrity, according to the defence ministry.

The Indian and Chinese troops have been locked in a three-year confrontation in certain friction points in eastern Ladakh even as the