In a surprise move, Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Leh on Friday as the Ladakh region witnesses a massive military standoff with China after Beijing's forces began attempts to violate the Line of Actual Control in May.
Modi is expected to review the security situation in Ladakh on account of the continuing military build-up by both India and China. According to reports, Modi may also meet soldiers posted in the border areas and even those who were injured in the clash of June 15, which left 20 Indian Army personnel dead.
Modi is being accompanied by Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat. Modi had been criticised by opposition parties for his seeming reluctance to name China as the aggressor in Ladakh.
The unannounced visit by Modi came a day after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh postponed his scheduled trip to Ladakh. The defence minister was to be accompanied by Chief of Army Staff General M.M. Naravane.
The Army Chief visited Ladakh on June 23 and 24 during which he held a series of meetings with senior Army officials and visited various forward areas in eastern Ladakh.
Shortly after the clash at Galwan, Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal R.K.S. Bhadauria visited forward bases in Leh and Srinagar.
The Indian and Chinese armies are locked in a bitter standoff in multiple locations in eastern Ladakh for the last seven weeks. The tension escalated manifold after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a clash in Galwan valley on June 15.
