Indian Army Chief Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane has reached Ladakh to review the security situation and operational preparedness of forces. His arrival is part of a two-day visit.
The Indian Army chief's visit to eastern Ladakh comes just ahead of winter when the eastern Ladakh region becomes cut off from the rest of the country due to heavy snowfall and avalanches.
Naravane is expected to visit forward areas and, according to a spokesperson for the Indian Army, "will also interact with troops deployed in the harshest terrain and weather conditions".
The Indian Army chief last visited Ladakh in April of this year.
India and China have been stationing their troops in the forward areas of the LAC since last year, in the first violent clash between the two armies since 1975.
On 29 September, China accused India of pursuing a "forward policy" and said that the "Indian Army illegally crossed the LAC to encroach on China's territory, which is the root cause of tension in the China-India border situation", accusing New Delhi of violating the bilateral agreements of 1993, 1996, and 2013 that have been central to maintaining peace and tranquility on the loosely demarcated LAC.
The Indian Foreign Ministry responded to the allegations, accusing China of deploying "a large number of troops and armaments in the border areas", while noting that "it was in response to Chinese actions, that our armed forces had to make appropriate counter deployments".
"It is our expectation that the Chinese side will work towards [the] early resolution of the remaining issues along the LAC in eastern Ladakh while fully abiding by bilateral agreements and protocols", the ministry underlined.
After 12 rounds of military commander-level talks between June 2020 and August 2021, the disengagement of troops and machines have been completed both north and south of Pangong Tso and the Gogra heights. However, talks are yet to be held on the Hot Springs, Demchok, and Depsang Plains.
The two sides have started deploying military assets along the LAC in recent weeks. China has reportedly deployed S-400 air missile defence systems at the Hotan Airbase in Xinjiang and Nyingchi Airbase in Tibet. The Indian Army, for its part, has reportedly deployed an unknown number of additional troops and tanks, including three regiments of M-777 howitzers along the LAC.