Despite de-escalation on Pangong Lake in Ladakh, the threat from China has not entirely dissipated, Army chief MM Naravane said Thursday.

Emphasising the need to demarcate the Line of Actual Control, he said the seriousness of Pakistan with regard to the ceasefire at the Line of Control could only be gauged after the onset of summer.

“Unless a substantial amount of de-escalation takes place and the troops that had come from multiple places and are currently within striking distance of the border go back, the threat remains,” Naravane said at the India Economic Conclave, organised by the Times Network.

He said there was tension on the Northern borders which was resolved through multiple rounds of talks, culminating in disengagement at Pangong Tso. “The interaction was at different levels, including the foreign ministers and defence ministers of both countries and reversion to status quo ante of April 2020 was the bottomline in all discussions.”

On recently concluded military-level talks with Pakistan, Gen Naravane said: “There were talks between the DsGMO of both sides and a joint statement was issued on February 25, agreeing to resuscitate the ceasefire understanding of 2003 which was being honoured more in its breach. The whole month of March, we didn’t witness even a single round being fired on the LC barring one incident. It is for the first time in about five to six years that the LC has been silent. This really bodes well for the future. With peace and tranquillity prevailing on the border, it will contribute to the peace and stability of the country.”

On future of the arrangement, he expressed cautious optimism. “We have reasons to be hopeful as the Pakistani Army is on board. Since the firing along the LC was done to give cover to the terrorists attempting to infiltrate and there has been no firing recently, there is cause to be optimistic about the future. We need to wait and see how things develop…”