M A I N   N E W S

Chinese bunkers in Ladakh
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Feb 1 — Even as reports of fresh snowfall cutting off the Kashmir valley from the rest of the country poured in, a more chilling tale from the Aksai Chin area of Ladakh has sent shivers down the spine of strategic planners here.

According to reports, in an echo of Pakistan’s Kargil intrusion, an intrusion has been spotted on the Indian side of the Line of Control where the Chinese Army has dug in bunkers and set up a communication network of metalled roads.

The intelligence reports available in Delhi, based on reconnaissance carried out by ARC, a wing of the country’s foreign intelligence network, shows that the Chinese have constructed roads behind “K. Hill”.

The alien activity has been noticed near the northeast of trijunction of the Chip Chap river. The existence of roads and spotting of bunkers has sent alarm bells ringing in the intelligence and Army headquarters here. It is believed that construction activity of China was conducted in June and August last year while the Indian troops were engaged at Kargil.

Pakistan’s military ruler, Gen Pervez Musharraf, during his recent visit to China, got a warm reception and the two sides agreed to extend cooperation and strengthen the traditional ties.

During a recent meeting with foreign dignitaries, the Chinese President, Mr Jiang Zemin, had publicly criticised India and had ridiculed the Indian Army. He reportedly told the dignitaries that “if India were to attack China again, we will crush it this time”. These reports have made strategic planners take a fresh look at the threat perceptions emerging in India’s northern borders.The Beijing-Islamabad axis, which has become hyperactive since the Kandahar hostage imbroglio wherein Pakistan’s role as a terrorist state got highlighted, is acquiring a new dimension since General Musharraf’s visit to China.