Rajnath admits sizeable intrusion by Chinese, military-to-military talks on Saturday - Broadsword by Ajai Shukla - Strategy. Economics. Defence.

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Wednesday 3 June 2020

Rajnath admits sizeable intrusion by Chinese, military-to-military talks on Saturday



By Ajai Shukla
Business Standard, 3rd June 20

After two weeks of downplaying the intrusions by thousands of Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers into Ladakh, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has admitted that “large numbers” of Chinese troops had crossed into India’s side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) – the de facto border that both countries have mutually agreed to respect.

“It is true that Chinese soldiers (are) on the LAC. There are differences in both sides’ perceptions of where the frontier runs. And the Chinese soldiers have arrived there in large numbers (achhi khaasi sankhya mein),” stated Rajnath in a television interview on Tuesday.

“India is doing what it needs to do in the circumstances,” said the defence minister, while declining to spell out the measures.

Sources say that India has reacted to the surprise Chinese move by rushing troops to the main intrusion points in the Galwan River Valley in northern Ladakh and the Pangong Tso Lake in central Ladakh – where at least 5,000 PLA soldiers have entered and are preparing roads and concrete bunkers to consolidate their presence.

However, Indian troops have been instructed not to inflame the situation by attacking or outflanking PLA positions.

Rajnath voiced confidence that the festering confrontation could be resolved through military-to-military talks and diplomatic engagement between New Delhi and Beijing, as was achieved during the Doklam confrontation in 2017.

“In the current situation, military-to-military talks are under way and there is a possibility that discussions will be held on June 6 at the level of senior military officers. I discussed this with the Army Chief today,” said Rajnath.

Rajnath emphatically refused to classify China as an enemy. He said that, while India would never hurt the self-respect and sovereignty of any country, “If anyone violates our sovereignty or tries to make India bow its head, this country would respond with force (moonh tod jawaab dega).”

Meanwhile, on the border, there has been no Chinese withdrawal or concession. The face off continues at four locations. In the Galwan River Valley troops are facing off at the Galwan River’s junction with the Shyok River, Patrolling Point 14, 15 and 17 and at Gogra Top. In the Pangong Tso sector, Indian troops are in contact with the Chinese at the so-called Fox Hole Peninsula.

However, in a reverse for India, China has established full control over the Finger Heights, Green Top and Finger 4 and Finger 5. Since the LAC earlier ran along Finger 8, Chinese troops have captured the area between Finger 8 and Finger 4, moving the LAC several kilometres to the west.

In addition, over the preceding fortnight, the Chinese have black-topped the road between Finger 8 and Finger 4. The PLA had constructed a dirt track in this area in 1999 when Indian units were pulled out of this area during the Kargil conflict.

Worryingly, government sources, backed by satellite intelligence, are now reporting a large number of Chinese armoured vehicles in the Depsang area, near Daulat Beg Oldi, where Indian and Chinese troops had confronted each other for three weeks in 2013, before mutually disengaging.

Referencing that incident, as well as similar confrontations in Chumar (2014) and Doklam (2017), Rajnath Singh said: “There is something constantly going on along the Sino-Indian border… sometimes there have been such tensions that fire arms have been snatched between them. China should think about this seriously.”

6 comments:

  1. when will India get a spine?
    The Chinese will continue to take what is given until we say no more.

    Cujo

    ReplyDelete
  2. SINCE RAW IS QUITE USELESS AND MODI BAKTHS PROLIFERATE THIS BLOG
    THESE RSS PATRIOTS CAN HELP BY DOING SOMETHING USEFUL INSTEAD OF ABUSING PEOPLE

    Can the patriots identify the positions of these PLA Border Guard regiments
    And identify the places Using Google earth.
    Any structures that look regimented and organised , with tracks or roads.
    You will need to go over the map zoomed in centimetre by centimetre, and offer a link to your results

    Frontier Defense No. 361 Regiment (Zada, Ali Region, Tibet)
    Frontier Defense No. 362 Regiment (Ritu County, Ali Region, Tibet)
    Frontier Defense No. 363 Regiment (Tibet Ali Shiquan River)
    Frontier Defense 364th Regiment (Xinjiang Kashi Tashkurgan/Xinjiang Akto County)
    Frontier Defense No 365th Regiment (Uchia, Kizilsu Kirgiz Prefecture, Xinjiang)
    Frontier Defense No. 366th Regiment (Xinjiang Aksu Ush)
    Frontier Defense No. 367 Regiment (Xinjiang, Yili, Zhaosu)
    Frontier Defense 36th Regiment (Huicheng, Huocheng, Yili, Xinjiang)
    Frontier Defense 369th Regiment (Bole, Xinjiang Boltala State)
    Frontier Defense No. 70 Regiment (Torri, Tacheng, Xinjiang)
    Frontier Defense No. 371 Regiment (Tacheng Emin, Xinjiang)
    Frontier Defense No. 372 Regiment (Altai Fuyun, Xinjiang)
    Frontier Defense No. 373 Regiment (Altai Haba River, Xinjiang)
    Frontier Defense 34th Regiment (Xinjiang Changji Qitai)
    Frontier Defense 375th Regiment (Hali Barikun, Xinjiang)



    ReplyDelete
  3. Broadsword when describing a road eschew the picturesque speech.
    Use ‘tarred’ instead of “black topped” the road
    Or more accurately use “they have metalled the road surface”
    You are a proper Defence Journalist from the Business Standard not one of the many dozen of half baked defence analysts appearing in Republic TV or Aaj Tak.

    ReplyDelete
  4. India is much weaker than China in defense and other sectors. I think China is going to take its land back from India this time that occupied the Chinese land, and the same will happen with Kashmir as it will go to Pakistan.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sir No option left but attack Chinese posts all across LAC

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for the regimental frontier defense regiments. You saved me a whole lot of work, especially as I cant read Chinese. If you care to reveal your name to me at rikhye1@hotnail, I will be happy to cite you.

    black-topped is American for "tarred".

    Ans thank you for bringing up the point of Mr. Modi's admirers. Ajai came in for much abuse by telling us what was going on. I hope those folks now apologize to him. All us old timers knew from our own info sources that GOI was lying about the extent of the problem. That they've decided to be partially truthful is staggering AFA I'm concerned because lying has been the standard pattern since 1956 or even earlier.

    I have no problem with the political beliefs of PM Modi's followers. That is their right under the Indian Constitution. What bugs me is when people like Ajai tell the truth, they are accused of being traitors. Anyone who knows Ajai knows he is a true patriot - I am not concerned with his political beliefs any more than I am with Mr. Modi's followers beliefs. But this blog is about defense, not politics.

    I have been highly critical of GO since 1960 because of its failure to reclaim India's lost territory. In the last 60-years, governments of every complexion have come and gone. Our defense problems are not the result of any political party, but the MEA and MinFinance senior bureaucrats who actually run Indian foreign and military policy. And somehow they all have come with the same solution: dont rearm, dont provoke China, keep Indian heads down.

    If I were to use the word traitor, I would apply it first to MEA and second, if at all, to MinFin.

    Lets all of us take Anon as an example, talk about facts, educate ourselves, and not waste time on polemics.

    ReplyDelete

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