- Defence Today, a strategic journal, editor Bharat Verma claimed that China might make the move as early as October.
- Defence experts in India are already warning the government that China might resort to a 1962 war-style gamble
- Incursions by Chinese troops on land and in air into India have increased in recent weeks.
- The army has sounded an operational alert on the India-China Line of Actual Control (LAC) after reports of a Chinese military exercise involving 50,000 troops in Tibet
- India palces 15,000 troops stationed in Manipur to counter threat from Chinese influence in Myanmar
- Himalayan blunder India’s crushing defeat by China in 1962
There seems to be growing tension between India and China. Beijing on Sunday took exception to the detention of United Arab Emirates air force aircraft at Kolkata airport earlier this week. It called the incident an attempt by Indian officials “to spy on Chinese military secrets” and said India violated diplomatic rights because the cargo onboard belonged to China. NDTV
The tensions along the Chinese Bharati (aka Indian) “Actual Line of Control” in the Ladakh area of Indian Occupied Kashmir is palpable. Ladakh used to be a Buddhist majority area, but according to the last Bharati census, the majority of the population is now Muslim.
Chinese helicopters, troops and rock markings were recently found on the Indian territory bordering China. So, just what is China up to? Though India describes them as minor incursions, but it’s worried about the design and the grand plan of the Chinese behind these. The aggressive patrolling, assertive transgressions and vituperative articles in state media aimed against India, is all part of the larger design to keep India off balance. And China is doing that currently through a large military exercise named Stride 2009. The military exercise involves 50,000 troops, tanks and aircraft. Beijing’s intention is to practice moving divisions to the Indian border quickly, across thousands of kilometres from this far corner of China. A Chinese general bluntly says, “The unprecedented exercise is to improve long-range projection.”… NDTV
- Indian Chinese war 1962
NEW DELHI: Is a repeat of the 1962 Sino-India war looming large? Though played down by the Indian government for diplomatic reasons, 30,000 additional troops – with weaponry and artillery support – are being rushed to the country’s northeast region bordering China. Indian troops deployed on the disputed border with China are also being reinforced, following the second incursion in the Ladakh region in the last eight months.
- India China border dispute. Bharat occupies the territory of South Tibet which it calls Arunchal Pradesh. In an era of increased tension, Chinese forces have built a robust network of roads and rails to the border and Bharat has placed SU planes Tezpur to 3200 km or 8500 km with fuel tanks. China took the area in 1962 but gave it back to Bharat. Bharat did not withdraw from the territory and still occupies Chinese territory
More worrisome for India is the Chinese claim on Arunachal Pradesh and repeated incursions into border villages and reports of a Chinese military exercise involving 50,000 troops in Tibet. A highway built by China parallel to the border, with approach roads intruding into Arunachal Pradesh, is also a matter of concern as it can be used by the Chinese Army to move quickly – with artillery – to capture parts of the state. Not taking these developments lightly, the Indian Army is preparing for any eventuality, putting the troops deployed on the border on operational alert and increasing vigilance in Arunachal Pradesh. A full mountain division of about 15,000 troops, under the command of three brigadiers, is being stationed in Arunachal Pradesh in areas where border fortifications may be weak. This division would be attached to the 4 Corps unit, based out of Tezpur in Assam.
Growing influence: A second division of the same strength is being deployed in Manipur and attached to the 3 Corps, based out of Dimapur in Nagaland. This division would be placed on the Bangladesh-India-Myanmar axis to counter any threat from China’s growing influence in Myanmar. Since raising new divisions takes a lot of time, sources said the Indian Army is pulling officers and troops out of peace-time postings from across the country to form the two divisions quickly.
Defence experts in India are already warning the government that China might resort to a 1962 war-style gamble, though maybe not on the same scale, to divert attention from rising inflation in the country. Writing in Defence Today, a strategic journal, editor Bharat Verma claimed that China might make the move as early as October. According to government sources, such a perceived threat has been already discussed by the army’s top brass, following which the decision to fortify all positions on the Sino-India border was taken. More Indian troops on China border Daily Times – September 14, 2009. By Iftikhar Gilani
The Sino-Indian War involved a month of heavy fighting in harsh, high-altitude conditions, with huge logistical problems. There is no definitive history of the conflict, but reportedly some 1,300 Indian troops and 700 Chinese were killed before China declared a ceasefire, having seized much of the territory it claimed in both the northeast and northwest (Ladakh.) The fighting was followed by thirty years of standoff across the border of the disputed areas.
There are news reports emanating from Beijing and Delhi where we see the rising temperatures between Indian and China. Bharat has had wars with all her neighbors including China. The last war with China was in 1962 where the Chinese gave the Bharatis a huge drubbing. There have been border violation and firing across the border in South Tibet (aka Arunchal Pradesh in Bharat and in the Aksai Chin area of China. Aksia Chin was a border area between Pakistan and China. Pakistan resolved the border by giving CHina 5000 square miles of Aksia Chin to Beijing. This allowed China to build land roads to Tibet and consolidate its national sovereignty.
- Map of Kashmir Showing the river flow from Kashmir and beyond
There are more boats patrolling the idyllic Pangong Lake, the only water body shared by India and China, than ever before.
- Pangong Lake is shared by China and Indian Occupied Ladakh. This is the site of Indo-Chinese tensions
But Asia’s giants, playing a cat-and-mouse game on this cold northern frontier, make sure their boats don’t make contact, when earlier they did without much fuss.
Most of the lake, 180 km north of Leh, is with the Chinese. Their patrols come around only when Indian boats are anchored. Indians do the same.
“There is tension,” said an army officer who refused to be identified as both sides would officially not talk about tensions. “We used to patrol unarmed, now we go with weapons.” Said the officer: “You cannot trust the enemy.”
As nationalistic feelings grow in China, a wary India tries hard to downplay reports of incursions — which the foreign office in Delhi said haven’t changed over the last two years — but the wariness here on India’s 4,056-km-long unmarked border with China is evident.
- Ladakh map Pangong Lake Karakorums
The army is preparing for military exercises with troops moving 105 mm artillery guns in Chishul — called Tak Makoo or black mountains — where HT saw troops taking positions.
“This is a routine exercise,” a soldier said. But locals, who complained of Chinese troops menacing shepherds last year, watched anxiously.
- Ladakh (Indian Occupied Kashmir) map showing Pangong Lake: This is a site of recent tensions between “India” and China
“We haven’t seen this thing [troop build-ups] happening in several years,” said Tashi, a resident of a settlement Tangste. He gave only his first name.
Mindful of China’s distaste of media reporting of tensions, army spokesmen in Delhi and Udhampur (Northern Command headquarters) refused comment.
Officers said exercises were an annual affair, when the weather was clear.
Incursions by Chinese troops on land and in air into India have increased in recent weeks. In one instance, last week, a patrol painted the word ‘Yellow river’ on a boulder on the Indian side.
- Indian Western command WAC: Ladakh to Bikanar
India has confirmed all the incursions, blaming them on the unclear demarcation of the Line of Actual Control.
Reports on Sunday spoke of incursions in Uttarakhand. But the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, which mans the border, and the state police denied it.
- Pangong Tso Lake in Ladakh (Indian Occupied Kashmir)
“Though there has been no such incident recently, it’s not new. Every year around August-September Chinese activity is seen near the border,” said Uttarakhand police chief Subhash Joshi. China has denied all reports of incursions.
The civil administration refuses comment. “You talk to me about development,” said Leh deputy commissioner A K Sahu. “About the border you should talk to the Army.”
The locals are nervous. “We are waiting to see what happens this winter,” said Chering Dorjay, chief executive councilor of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council.
“Last December, they intimidated shepherds, uprooted tents in border areas,” he said. Hindustan Times. (With inputs from Delhi and Dehradun). Arun Joshi, Hindustan Times, Pangong Tso, Ladakh: , September 14, 2009. Trouble brews in paradise
New Delhi, Sept. 11: Delhi may play down Beijing’s posturing in Arunachal Pradesh but a concerned Indian Army is raising two more divisions, or about 30,000 men, in the Northeast.
The army has sounded an operational alert on the India-China Line of Actual Control (LAC) after reports of a Chinese military exercise involving 50,000 troops in Tibet, where Beijing has increased its activities. Correspondingly, the Indian Army is said to be conducting an operations exercise in Arunachal.
Sources said one of the two new divisions would be stationed in Arunachal to take care of the China-India-Myanmar axis and the other at Leimakhong, 20km from Imphal, to cover the Bangladesh-India-Myanmar axis. One of the divisions is already being raised, sources said.
Although the two divisions together make up a Corps’ strength, they would be separated and placed under the respective controls of the 3 Corps and 4 Corps, sources said. The division at Leimakhong will be under the 3 Corps, based at Rangapahar near Dimapur in Nagaland. The one in Arunachal will be under the 4 Corps, based in Upper (eastern) Assam.
Army chief General Deepak Kapoor today met Corps commanders and top officers of the Eastern Command in Calcutta, apparently to discuss China, which has built highways parallel to the LAC with approach roads intruding into Arunachal.
The divisions are being raised fast and army officers have been issued posting orders to various locations. Troops have been pulled out of army units from across the country. The 57 Mountain Division in Manipur is expected to move to southern Assam.
On the flip side, moving in a new division and moving out an existing one would mean additional responsibilities for the Assam Rifles in Manipur. Till now, militancy in Manipur has been handled mainly by the army but with a new division busy raising its troops, the paramilitary force will come under severe test. Army alert on China NISHIT DHOLABHAI The Telegraph – September 12, 2009
New Delhi: A massive upgrade of infrastructure and military capabilities is under way along the disputed India-China border in a bid to be prepared for any misadventures from the other side.
To this end, a huge jump in military strength along the border is under way. While a decision to locate Sukhoi-30 fighters at Tezpur from June 2009 has already been announced, the Indian Air Force (IAF) may also beef up its presence in the Chabua airbase and maintain heli-lift capabilities in other parts of the north-east.
For decades since the 1962 war, India had officially decided not to develop its border with China fearing that it would provide easy access to invading Chinese troops. A few years ago, that policy was junked and India plunged into an aggressive development of its border infrastructure.
It is now reactivating several airstrips built during World War II or the 1962 war and abandoned later. On May 31 this year, the IAF reactivated the world’s highest airstrip, at Daulat Beg Oldie in Ladakh, originally built during the 1962 Sino-Indian war. The strip, close to the Karakoram pass, is capable of landing AN-32 transport aircraft.
Several other advanced landing grounds, such as Fukche, Chushul and Nyama have also been made functional. “The logistics disasters of 1962 will never be repeated,” says an air force officer, referring to India’s inability at the time to provide support to its army in the frontlines.
India has also been trying to quickly catch up with China in building all-weather connectivity almost up to the last post, essential for a strong response to any Chinese misadventure, say many within the military leadership. “They are much ahead
of us in infrastructure, but we are fast catching up,” said a military source. A large network of roads is also being built; over 30 major new road links are in progress, besides several smaller strips.
In the north-east, the army is raising two divisions, with 15,000to 30,000 soldiers. They would add strength to the defence of the Arunachal Pradesh border, especially Tawang, which China is very keen to reclaim.
“We did exhibit our ability to carry out swift beefing-up of deployment during Operation Falcon in 1986-87,” says a senior army officer. Operation Falcon refers to India’s troop movement during the standoff with China at Sumdorong Chu. raising the country’s third artillery division along the northeast border, with Bofors howitzers and indigenously manufactured Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launchers.
The absence of noise from the military leadership on the alleged Chinese incursions is because India wants to be discreet about its build-up, so as not to spark off any unnecessary complications between the Asian giants.
Military leaders also insist that though India may not match up to China in numbers, it is capable of responding well in the event of a major skirmish. “We are not the army of 1962. We have a competent presence, and technologically we are superior on many fronts,” says a former commander of an army corps deployed along the northeast, an opinion shared by many senior army officers.
“I don’t frankly see any change in the situation along the border. But, hypothetically, if it came to a military confrontation, we are confident of our capabilities,” a senior officer in the army headquarters said. India is beefing up China border defences DNA – September 14, 2009
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