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Dragon on move, India to redraw military plan New Delhi, August 30 Close watch is being kept on the Chinese exercise which is a hotly debated topic in the defence circles these days. India, which is ramping up infrastructure along the border, may not respond with a tit-for-tat exercise by moving its troops, but it will keep “the need for speed” in mind, the sources added. For this, the pressure will be again on train and road connectivity in areas bordering China. China is testing its capacity to introduce long-range high-speed mobilisation using air, land and sea resources. The exercise, which started on August 11, will see some 50,000 men moving to unfamiliar areas far from their home bases for two months during which they will undergo live-fire drills. The men are drawn from four military regions of Shenyang, Lanzhou, Jinan and Guangzhou. Each of the teams will be deployed at least 1,200 kilometers away from their bases. China is divided into seven military regions. Such deployments may be needed by China to reinforce units in Tibet and Xinjiang as the military companies being used now are located farthest away from both these places. Notably, these two places are located very close to the border, as a result India is also within the “loop” of such an exercise, opined a serving officer. China already has a highway running right up to 50 km short of Demchok in eastern Ladakh. The highway running east of Lhasa is very close to Arunachal Pradesh. The 1220-km long Lhasa to Gormo railway line is another strategic link. Brig Gurmeet Kanwal, who is director, of the Delhi-based think-tank, Center for Land warfare and Studies (CLAWS), says at present India is well poised in its defence
strategy but a shift in doctrine was needed. For this, huge infrastructure support is needed. Kanwal believes that the exercise is not entirely geared towards India and China is testing its own ability to move large number of troops. The high-profile war game of the Chinese army is set to be somewhat countered as the Indian and US troops will simultaneously conduct their largest joint drill in October. It will feature a variety of armoured vehicles, medium and heavy lift aircraft and helicopters, an official said. The scale will be much smaller than China, but, the message will be important. Separately, IAF sources maintain that the advanced landing grounds in Arunachal Pradesh are ready and functional and so are the dozen-odd new helicopter landing grounds. These are all strategically placed to facilitate troop movement. “Heavy lift choppers will have to be used in case of any skirmish in these mountains”, opined a senior officer of the armed forces. A few months ago, the India Army deployed T-72 tanks in Sikkim. Another major road upgrade programme is on in eastern Ladakh for smoother deployment of mechanised infantry. Leh (JK), August 30 The MI series helicopters were reported to the nearby defence post by residents of this high altitude area living along the Pangong lake, located in the lap of majestic hills, prompting the Army Aviation Corps to rush its Cheetah and Chetak helicopters. However, they could only find tell-tale signs left by Chinese helicopters which hovered in the Indian territory for nearly five minutes dropping the food material on June 21 this year, sources said. Army spokesperson for Udhampur-based Northern Command said there was a report of a helicopter flying in the area south of Chumar, where India and China have differences in perception on the Line of Actual Control. It was reported by grazers. A confidential defence document accessed by PTI shows that Chinese helicopters entered into Indian air space along the Damchok area and Trig Heights in Ladakh and air dropped canned food containing frozen pork and brinjal, which had passed the expiry date. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army has been crossing over into the Indian side in this region quite frequently with August reporting the maximum number of incursions. Trig Heights also known as Trade junction, which connected Ladakh with Tibet in earlier days, is an area where Chinese patrol have frequented this year in June, July and August. Chinese Army patrols have made 26 sorties in June, including two incursions by helicopters, and 21 in July. In August this year, Chinese patrols have entered into the Indian Territory 26 times and walked away with petrol and kerosene meant for jawans of the border guarding forces. The Chinese army had made 223 attempts last year and left tell-tale signs. The Army spokesperson, however, tried to downplay these incursions attempts saying "there are a few areas along the border where India and China have different perceptions of the LAC. Both sides patrol up to their respective perceptions of LAC." — PTI
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