India'sn Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat on Friday said the situation at the Line of Actual Control - the de facto border with China - in eastern Ladakh remains tense and the possibility of a war with China cannot be ruled out.

"In the overall security calculus: border confrontations, transgressions, unprovoked tactical military actions -- spiralling into a larger conflict, therefore, cannot be discounted," Gen Rawat said.

His statement came amid ongoing military dialogues between India and China at Chushul of Friday. He was speaking at Diamond Jubilee Webinar, 2020 organised by the National Defence College in New Delhi.  The corps commander-level talks underway since 9.30 a.m. were the eighth round between the two armies and have so far proved fruitful in disengaging them in the snowy heights after their bloody confrontation in mid-June in the Galwan Valley area. 

However, the CDS also pointed out that India's posturing is unambiguous and she "will not accept any shift in Line of Actual Control".

He also said that China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) is facing unanticipated consequences for its "misadventure" into Ladakh because of firm responses by Indian forces.

On August 30, India had occupied critical mountain heights on the southern bank of the Pangong Lake like Rechin La, Rezang La, Mukpari, and Tabletop that were unmanned till now. India has also made some deployments near Blacktop also. The movement was carried out after the Chinese tried to make a provocative military move. Now, dominance at these 13 peaks allows India to dominate Spangur Gap under Chinese control and also the Moldo garrison on the Chinese side.

The CDS also said that India understands the importance of leveraging defence diplomacy in building mutual trust and partnerships with strategically important countries.

He said that in the coming years, the Indian defence industry will be growing exponentially and contribute to the overall defence preparedness. "The industry will deliver us state-of-art weapons and equipment fully made in India," General Rawat said.

"We must move out of the constant threat of sanctions or dependency on individual nations for our military requirements and invest in building long-term indigenous capability for strategic independence and application of decisive military power to squarely meet present and emerging challenges," the top Indian tri-services commander added.

(IANS)