Doklam crisis is not over: India and China are headed for more conflicts

Nilang (now written Nelong Valley)

My article Doklam crisis is not over: India and China are headed for more conflicts appeared in Mail Today/DailyO

Here is the link...

Beijing has not been able to digest the fact that New Delhi supported Bhutan during the standoff.

On New Year's Eve, President Xi Jinping delivered an 11-minute televised speech to extend his greetings to all Chinese and… friends all over the world. Xi said that Beijing is dedicated to safeguarding peace. "China will act as a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development and an upholder of the international order."
Will this translate in peace on the border in 2018? Probably not! Rumours are circulating that troops of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) have intruded in Gelling sector in the Siang Valley of Arunachal Pradesh.

Standoff
China has not fully digested the fact that India stood up for Bhutan when the PLA was trying to build a road in June near the trijunction between Sikkim and Chumbi Valley in Tibet.
Quoting "experts", a PLA website admitted that China will be better prepared "next time": "the recent Doklam standoff had propelled China to perfect its strategy in its western part" said chinamil.com.cn.
Zhao Xiaozhuo, a research fellow at the Academy of Military Sciences is quoted by the same newspaper: "India never takes road construction as an opportunity… and only thinks about its own interest."
Was the road on Bhutanese territory really an opportunity for India? It makes no sense.
During a recent press conference, the spokesperson of the China's ministry of national defence said India "should strictly control its troops".
While China is getting ready for another standoff, Beijing deeply dislikes Delhi developing its side of the border.
The Global Times resented the recent visit of the Indian Union home minister Rajnath Singh to Nelong Valley in Uttarakhand; Singh spent the New Year with Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
"An Indian road construction project connecting all border posts along the China-India frontier could lead to new military standoffs between China and India," warned another Chinese expert.
China is unhappy because Rajnath Singh asserted that "a number of border posts had already been connected with roads and many would soon be linked… this would enhance the operational efficiency of the officers and reduce mountain-related sickness among them."
While Beijing is going full steam to build infrastructure on its side of the McMahon Line, it complains about Delhi building roads on India's borders; amazing double standards.
Nelong Border Outpost (BoP), located at the height of 11,700 feet, is manned by the ITBP. Accompanied by ITBP director general, RK Pachnanda, the minister later visited Pulam Sumda (14,200 feet) and interacted with jawans and officers.

Investment
The area is disputed by the Chinese only because Beijing refuses to adhere to the universally-accepted principle of "watershed" used for demarcating borders. In Nelang, the watershed in the area is located at Tsangchok pass, beyond Pulam Sumda.
At the same time, Beijing does whatever it wants on its side of the border.
The China Daily recently reported: "Investment in infrastructure in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) is helping to lift 628 villages along the border out of poverty."
The Chinese newspaper further asserted: "After getting access to electricity and the construction of new roads, tea farmers and herdsmen in a village some 200 kilometres southwest of Lhasa in Tsona county founded a cooperative that provides skills training and job opportunities for villagers."
Lepo, a tiny village, north of Khenzimane, the last border post on the McMahon Line is said to have received several thousands of visitors last year and adequate lodging facilities have been provided to them.
China further admitted: "Starting last year, more than 100 million yuan (Rs 99.4 crore) has been invested in infrastructure in villages of less than 100 families as a part of a broader construction project to build model villages in the border area."

Infrastructure
The China Daily estimated that by 2020, the road access rate in the area will reach 100 per cent and the per capita disposable income will double. Last week, Xinhua reported that China's least populated township had been connected to the national grid. It is Yume (also spelt Yulmed), the first hamlet north of Upper Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh.Remember, at that time of the 19th Congress, Xi Jinping had written a letter to two young Tibetan herders who had introduced their village to the Chinese president. It was the same Yume.
The Global Times commented: "A sparsely populated township has been connected to the state electricity grid, ending life without electricity for its 32 residents."
The contractor, a Xining-based electric power company who worked on the project is quoted saying: "The 15-kilometer 10-kilovolt power line, which took five months to complete, is connected via 108 electric poles over a 5,000-meter-high mountain."
There are many such examples along the Tibetan side of the McMahon Line. Year 2018 may not be serene despite the peaceful vows of President Xi.

Getting a grip on issues regarding forward areas

My article Getting a grip on issues regarding forward areas appeared in The Edit Page of The Pioneer.

Here is the link...

Whether senior or junior, bureaucrats serving in the ministries of Defence, Home Affairs and Finance, should spend a weekend every month in the border areas. It should be seen as a ‘refresher course'

Something made my Diwali special this year: Prime Minister Narendra Modi spent the day with officers and jawans of the Indian Army, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBPF) and the Dogra Scouts who man the Tibet-India border in Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti districts of Himachal Pradesh.
The borders have always been neglected by Indian politicians, mostly busy preparing for the next election in their constituencies. It is truly a positive development to see the Prime Minister visiting the borders.
Though it was announced that Modi would be with the ITBPF at the Mana border post in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, he finally went to Kinnaur. Probably for security concerns, a diversionary announcement was made.
After landing at Chango, an Army and ITBP camp in Lahaul-Spiti, the Prime Minister travelled to Sumdo in Kinnaur district, where he distributed sweets to the jawans: “Our forces endure grave hardships for our security. If we remember them while being in a festive mood, our remembrance will give them strength and renewed energy”, he declared.
The Prime Minister is reported to have said, “Because you guard our borders, people sleep at night. If you were not on the borders, people couldn’t have slept.” Modi’s visit is crucial because India is facing a worrying situation on its borders; not only on the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan, but also on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China. Between 200 and 300 Chinese intrusions occur inside Indian territory every year; for the sake of ‘normalisation’ with Beijing, Delhi usually keeps silent.
The Army and the paramilitary forces are deployed from Karakoram Pass in Ladakh to Jachep La in Arunachal Pradesh along the 3488 km Indo-Tibet border. Apart from the young Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju, how many senior politicians have visited these forward areas? The fingers of one hand are too many to count them.
But the time has come that not only Ministers, but babus too should be sent to forward areas; it is the only way for them to know the life and the difficulties faced by those manning these inhospitable posts. This is particularly true for senior IAS and IPS officers.
Remember former Defence Minister George Fernandes, who sent his ministry’s bureaucrats to  Siachen to make them understand the use of snowmobiles?
Whether senior or junior, bureaucrats serving in the Ministry of Defence, Home Affairs or Finances, should spend a weekend every month in the border areas. It should not be seen as a punishment, but as a ‘refresher course’, to better understand and deal with the situation on the LOC and the LAC.
However the Modi Government should take a step further. The civil administration in these Himalayan areas is still in the hands of young IAS officers, ill-equipped and often unwilling to go through the hardships necessary to interact and help the locals.
Today, there is an acute need for a special cadre to administer India’s borders, principally in the Himalaya. The Government should take the first step in this direction, even if it ruffles some feathers, particularly within the all-powerful IAS/IPS lobbies.
It is worth noting that Jawaharlal Nehru did it, though out of romantic concerns. He believed in the ‘noble savage’ described by French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau: “Nothing is so gentle as man in his primitive state, when placed by nature at an equal distance from the stupidity of brutes and the fatal enlightenment of civil man.” Nehru had similar beliefs about the inhabitants of the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) and other border areas. He took the great initiative in creating a separate cadre for India's frontiers, mainly NEFA, Tibet, Sikkim and Bhutan.
In 1953-54, the first batch of officers, drawn mainly from the Army but also from the All-India services, was posted on the frontiers.
The initial recruitment to the Indian Frontier Administrative Service (IFAS) was made through a Special Selection Board with representatives from the Ministries of External and Home Affairs and Defence, along with an expert in tribal affairs, Verrier Elwin, the Indian-naturalised anthropologist, author of The Philosophy of NEFA.
Sixty years later, one realises that, though the idea was good, the over-romantic views about the border population amounted to the segregation of a large chunk of the Indian population.
KC Johorey, who later became Chief Secretary of Goa, was one of the first pioneers who joined the IFAS. He still remembers what Nehru told his batch: “The staff must go along with the flag and the typewriters can follow later on.” Johorey recalls his first posting in Along in the Siang Frontier Division, “There were two houses, one for the burra sahib [for Yusuf Ali, his boss], and behind another smaller hut. The houses were really huts made of bamboos, palm leaves and canes. Even the tables and the beds were of bamboos. There were no mattresses, no electricity and no furniture. The houses were very clean and airy. That was all”, Johorey recalls.
One of the most famous members of the IFAS is Major Ranenglao ‘Bob’ Khathing, who single-handedly brought Tawang under Indian administration in February 1951. Unfortunately, Verrier Elwin could only see the anthropological side of the issue, forgetting the strategic as well the economic aspects of border development. The IFAS, an ad hoc creation of Nehru, was dissolved in the mid-1960s and the intrepid IFAS officers were ‘merged’ into the ‘ordinary’ IFS, IAS or IPS.
It is perhaps time to review the concept and create a Indo-Tibet Border Administrative Service, with daring officers coming from different walks of life (perhaps mainly from the Army to start with), but who would be willing to undertake the vital task to develop Indian frontiers. The IAS is today not fit for the job, though young dynamic IAS officers would be welcome in the new service.
A similar issue was recently highlighted by Brigadier V Mahalingam (retd) in The Times of India’s blog. He mentioned the case of the Border Security Force (BSF). On October 1, recruitment was held for 10 vacancies, as against 22 sanctioned posts of Inspector General (IG) of the force. Mahalingan writes: “Apparently, the appointment of nine IPS officers as IGs in the force was meant to fill up nine out of the 10 upgraded vacancies, leaving just one vacancy for the BSF cadre officers. Does that mean that there are shortages in DIG-ranked BSF officers in the 2,57,025 strong force with 186 operational battalions to fill up the vacancies of IGs?”
The solution to properly managing the border areas is to create a specialised cadre for which appointments will be based on merit either from the Army or through lateral entry. And from the existing cadres, if they fit the bill.

Special force needed after India ignores border intrusions on the Chinese side

My article Special force needed after India ignores border intrusions on the Chinese side appeared last week in The Mail Today.

Here is the link...

India is facing difficult situation on its borders; not only for the LoC with Pakistan, but also for the LAC with China. Between 200 and 300 Chinese intrusions inside the Indian territory occur every year but for the sake of the ‘normalization’ with Beijing, Delhi is keeping rather silent.
There is perhaps a solution to improve the situation: a better administration of the border areas.
For the security, the Indo-Tibet Border Police Force (ITBPF) is deployed from Karakoram Pass in Ladakh to Jachep La in Arunachal Pradesh along the 3488 km Indo-Tibet border, manning Border Outposts in the three sectors of the Himalayan frontier.
While the ITBPF, raised on October 24, 1962, is a specialized mountain Force with professionally trained mountaineers, the civil administration in these Himalayan areas is still in the hands of young IAS officers, unequipped and often unwilling to go through the hardship necessary to interact and help the local population.
Today, there is an acute need for a special cadre to administrate India’s borders, principally in the Himalaya. Is the Government ready to take a first step in this direction? Probably not, as it may ruffle too many feathers, starting with the powerful IAS lobby.
It is worth noting that Nehru did it, though with romantic concerns. He believed in the ‘noble savage’ described by French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau: “Nothing is so gentle as man in his primitive state, when placed by nature at an equal distance from the stupidity of brutes and the fatal enlightenment of civil man.”
Nehru had similar beliefs about the inhabitants of the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA), he wrote: “I am not at all sure which is the better way of living, the tribal or our own. In some respects I am quite certain theirs is better. Therefore, it is grossly presumptuous on our part to approach them with an air of superiority.”
Though constitutionally a part of Assam, in the 1950s, the NEFA was administered by the Ministry of External Affairs, with the Governor of Assam, acting as agent to the President of India, seconded by a senior officer (often from the ICS), designated as Advisor to the Governor.
Nehru took a great initiative in creating a separate cadre for India’s frontiers, mainly NEFA, Tibet, Sikkim and Bhutan.
When on April 4, 1952, the Prime Minster mentioned to Jairamdas Doulatram, the Governor of Assam, the need of a ‘special’ cadre; the idea was not appreciated by all. Finally in 1954, the first batch of officers, drawn mainly from the Army but also from the All-India services, was posted on the frontiers.
The initial recruitment to the Indian Frontier Administrative Service (IFAS) was made through a Special Selection Board with representatives from the Ministries of External and Home Affairs and Defense, along with an expert in tribal affairs, Dr. Verrier Elwin, the famous British anthropologist who had just taken Indian citizenship. Verrier’s concept of the development of these areas was expounded in his celebrated book, The Philosophy of NEFA.
Sixty years later, one realizes that though the idea was good, the over-romantic views about the border population amounted to the segregation of a large chunk of the Indian population and triggered underdevelopment of the border areas, still existing today.
K.C. Johorey who later became Chief Secretary in Goa was one of the first pioneers who joined the IFAS; he still remembers what Nehru told his batch: “The staff must go along with the flag and the typewriters can follow later on.” Johorey recalls his first posting in Along in the Siang Frontier Division: “There were two houses, one for the burra sahib [for Yusuf Ali, his boss], and behind another smaller hut. The houses were really huts made of bamboos, palm leaves and canes. Even the tables and the beds were of bamboos. There were no mattresses, no electricity and no furniture. The houses were very clean and airy. That was all,” says Johorey.
One of the most famous members of the IFAS is Maj Ranenglao ‘Bob’ Khathing who single-handedly brought Tawang under Indian administration in February 1951.
Another officer, Maj. S.M. Krishnatri has left an extraordinary account of his ‘tour’ report in what is today the Upper Subansiri district of Arunachal. Krishnatry, who had earlier been posted for 7 years in Tibet provides a detailed description of his adventures: “[Earlier] most exploratory expeditions in the tribal frontiers have been armed or armoured with heavy escorts much to the cost and suppression of human rights, occupation of their lands, burning of villages, molestation of women, looting of livestock, crops and banning of trade.”
Unfortunately, Verrier Elwin could only see the anthropological side of the issue, forgetting the strategic as well the economic aspects of the border development; it resulted in a huge development gap between the frontier areas and the rest of India, which became critical after Tibet’s invasion in 1950. As a result, when China attacked India in October 1962, the country was unable to give Mao’s troops a befitting response.
The IFAS, an adhoc creation of Nehru, was dissolved in the mid-1960s and the intrepid IFAS officers were ‘merged’ into the ‘boring’ IFS, IAS or IPS.
It is perhaps time to review the concept and create a new IFAS (or an Indo-Tibet Border Administrative Service), with daring officers coming from different walks of life (perhaps mainly from the Army to start with), but who would be willing to undertake the vital task to develop Indian frontiers. The IAS is today not fit for the job, though young dynamic IAS officers would be welcome in the new service.

China is ready

According to The China Daily, many border areas in China have deployed “an integrated frontier monitoring system consisting of advanced radars and unmanned aircraft”.
Mao Weichen, a spokesperson of the Southwestern Institute of Technology and Physics in Chengdu, told the Chinese press: “Our system has been adopted by border defense units in Xinjiang, Tibet, Yunnan and many other regions to curb illegal border crossings and drug trafficking. …Users also include some airports and military bases.”
The institute is a branch of China North Industries Group Corp, China's main manufacturer of land weapons.
Mao asserted that the new system integrates electro-optical devices, radars, communications equipment, command-and-control instruments and tools for image analysis.
The Institute in Chengdu has closely worked with border patrols, which are said to be able now to perform round-the-clock, all-weather surveillance of ‘illegal cross-border movements’.
The announcement probably addresses the Indian paramilitary personnel guarding the LAC in Ladakh and the McMahon Line in Arunachal.
It will also help China to keep a watch on the Tibetans wanting to take refuge in India via Nepal.
Mao affirmed that “people trying to cross the border will be detected by the system, which then automatically notifies the border guards.”
He added that the same system, equipped with sea-scanning radar can also be used for guarding the coasts of China.
It was explained that “Compared with traditional border monitoring networks that mainly depend on video surveillance, our system has a wider coverage and more deterrence thanks to the use of drones and acoustic weapons.”
A few weeks ago, Xinhua reported “recent years have seen a surge in China in cross-border crimes, especially illegal crossings and drug trafficking.”
Border defense units in Xinjiang, Guangdong and Heilongjiang have for several years been using frontier monitoring systems, such closed-circuit televisions which had very limited detection capabilities.
As the Ladakh/Aksai Chin border comes under of the Xinjiang Military District of Lanzhou Military Area Command, it probably means that the new system will be used (or is already used) on the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The China Daily quoted an unnamed ‘border defense expert working in Beijing’, who said: “Given that cross-border crimes are frequent, it no longer works to depend on our soldiers to patrol and catch the bad guys on foot. Therefore the border defense authorities are turning their eyes on high-tech apparatus.”

India always behind
In the meantime, India always far behind, is trying to strengthen its borders with China, particularly in Ladakh. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) would like to deploy some additional 6,000 personnel along the LAC.
Today, the ITBP Force is responsible for the 3,488 km border with China from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh.
A government source said that the ITBP has moved a proposal for deployment of six battalions to plug the gaps along the LAC.
While the Indian side ‘moves proposals’, the Chinese acts.
With the proposal under Home Ministry's 'active' consideration, it is hoped that the ITBP may be able to raise eight additional battalions (about 8,000 personnel), which would “enable rest and recuperation of its men after working in harsh weather conditions on the icy frontier. “
The question is: why can’t the ‘sensitive’ border be guarded by the Indian Army?
Further why should an ITBP jawan spends 20 per cent on guard duties of VVIPs?
Why can't other forces provide security for the VVIPs?
Regarding the ITBP, Lt Gen J.S. Bajwa, the Editor of The Indian Defence Review has put on record some interesting points:

• ITBP does not have its own integral intelligence setup so essential in an operational situation.
• The Army has a comprehensive intelligence setup and has wherewithal for intelligence gathering and substantial surveillance resources.
• ITBP communications are based, primarily, on High Frequency radio, which is most vulnerable to interception and being jammed when required particularly in an operational situation.
• The Army has a secure radio and static line communication network with adequate redundancies built-in for exercising optimal operational command and control.
• Inter-communication between Army and ITBP is adhoc and is mainly provided from Army resources. ITBP’s integral radio equipment is incompatible with equipment currently in use by the Army.
• Given the nature of the high altitude of the region there is frequent movement of such personnel making the whole exercise temporary and fragmented.
• The Chinese Border Defence Units deployed and garrisoned along the entire LAC are directly under the PLA, which is surely not mere ‘policing’ duties.
• With a Police force deployed on the LAC, the Chinese will interpret it as a tacit acceptance of the Indian Government that the LAC is not a ‘LIVE’ border that needs to be guarded by military forces. A benign approach to the whole India-China Boundary question.

Lt Gen Bajwa offers some interesting suggestions, though it is doubtful if the authorities are ready to listen. He says: “place all ITBP forces deployed along the LAC under the Army for operational control.”
In the meantime: “Induction of new equipment into the Force, should as a policy, be cleared by the Army from the technical and logistic compatibility point of view.”
The crux of the problem, according to the Editor of The Indian Defence Review is: “MHA’s reluctance to place the ITBP under the Army is indicative of the underlying resistance of the IPS lobby to serve under any commander from the Army. IPS as seen from the factual ground realities considers itself as an 'administrative cadre' akin to IAS. They loathe the notion of leading from the front as field commanders.”
This may not change soon.

New cameras for the ITBP?
After writing the above post, I came across an article in The Daily Excelsior, the largest newspaper published in J&K.
It says: "Though peace prevailed between Sino-Indian troops along the LAC in Ladakh sector with both Armies holding regular interactions at Border Meeting Points (BMPs), India has decided to go ahead with installation of latest gadgetry along the LAC to monitor movement of the Chinese troops from its side."
The Ministries of Home Affairs and Defence suddenly realized the "failure of previous such system to work up to the expectations of Army and ITBP, which guards the LAC along the China border."
According to the The Excelsior "the MHA and MoD have decided to go ahead with their proposal for installation of high resolution sophisticated cameras to keep surveillance on the PLA activities on its own side."
An Army source told the Jammu-based newspaper: “The Defence experts would first work on surveillance cameras before their installation about 20 kilometers inside the Indian territory to ensure that the system doesn’t fail like the previous one, which hadn’t come up to expectations of the ITBP as it failed to gave proper and adequate view of the activities across the LAC.”
The Excelsior adds: "It was in this context especially after Despang incursions that the ITBP had decided to install sophisticated cameras to monitor movement of the PLA on the Indian side. However, this system has not worked and, therefore, the MHA and MoD have decided to go ahead with the new system of installing very high resolution surveillance cameras to ensure that they give adequate picture of the LAC, where the troops and the ITBP personnel can’t monitor or patrol regularly."
The fact remains that China is still several stages in front especially with the new drones and the newly-installed sophisticated equipments reported in The China Daily.

The Chinese are ready for any eventuality.
Have a look at these pictures of the Chinese border forces (PLA) exercising in the Kunlun Mountains, probably not far from Ladakh.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Changing Pattern of Chinese Intrusions

Chaglagam village

Last week, I posted an interview of the MP from Ladakh, Thupstan Chhewang on the Chinese incursions.
Here is another interview dating from more or less the same time than Chhewang's.
This time, it is about Arunachal Pradesh and Kiren Rijiju, the then MP explains the patters of Chinese intrusions on India's territory.
After reading a report from India Today on the recent Chinese 'visits' to Chaglagam, the last village before the McMahon Line in Anjaw district, it has become obvious that the pattern of intrusions has drastically changed during the past 5 years, whether it is in Ladakh or in Arunachal.
Take Chaglagam, a small village where some fifty families live on local cultivation and from time to time, by rendering services (mainly as porters)  to the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBPF) manning the border, some 40 km away.
The village has no power supply, no gas supply. There is just one telephone in the village for communication; no tower for mobile telephony.
To get supply of food or vegetables, the villagers have to walk to the nearest village, some 50 km away.
The road condition is said to be extremely bad, as the area has not been a priority for the Border Road Organization.
Now, on August 12, Chaglagam had the visit of the Chinese Peoples' Liberation Army who had walked more that 40 km into India.
On their way, the PLA's soldiers took some local porters as hostage and kept them for several hours. 
Of course, it was not counted as an intrusion by the Government which remained mum in the issue.
India Today's reporter visited the village and questioned some of the porters. Here are some of his findings:

42-year-old porter Kamthalam Thapa recounts his rendezvous with the Chinese army, "We met the Chinese army on 12th August. We were held captive for several hours and released later. This doesn't happen usually but it happened this year with us."
Kamthalam is not the only one kept in Chinese custody for several hours. He along with others met the Chinese when they were very much in Indian territory. The Chinese incursion this time has been documented with the help of evidence provided by these porters who travel on this route for a living. Some of them go to the forest to collect wood and cultivate poppy.
His companion Chamba Thapa, a porter, dressed in traditional attire also had similar things to say, "We were caught on our way by the Chinese army. We had no option but to return back to the base. The Chinese went away so they left us."
... The Chinese have left wrappers of eatables in the Indian boundary and not just once but several times.
...A regular porter with the army, Ambalam Chapa has stood witness to this several times. "We are porters. When we go with Army we find a lot of Chinese items littered here and there, from packets of biscuits and other eatables to other items. This is not the first time but I have seen this earlier also in past two three years. There also times when we have seen Chinese flags in the Indian region," says Ambalam.

India Today adds: "Now, the Indian government has maintained a stoic silence on the Chinese incursion but Aaj Tak/Headlines Today has evidence of the intrusion."
What can we conclude from this report and Kiren Rijiju's interview?
First, the pattern of intrusions has completely changed during the last 5 years. From Tibetan grazers and herders who were 'pushed' into Indian territory, it is now the People's Liberation Army (in uniform) which is shamelessly intruding in Ladakh, in the Middle Sector and in Arunachal.
Everyone knows the solution, it is to develop the infrastructure in the border areas. But how to convince the babus in South Block?
The best would probably be to use the 'Fernandes method'.
When he was Defense Minister, George Fernandes used to send the babus to the Siachen glacier to see by themselves the situation and understand the problems.
South Block's babus could be sent in rotation for, let us say, 2 weeks each to Chaglagam; let them fetch their food from the 'nearby' village and then cook their rice and dhal. It will be a memorable experience.
Once in a while, they may be captured by the PLA, but I am certain, that they will soon be released after their colleagues of the MEA speak to Beijing using one of the many 'mechanisms' to keep the border peaceful.
I am sure that once back in Delhi, the babus will produced convincing reports advocating immediate construction of roads and setting up basic facilities for these remote villages of Arunachal.
The Defence Minister could even spent 2/3 days there, he would become immensely popular with the defence forces, particularly with the jawans.
It would not be a novelty, at the beginning of the year,  President Xi Jinping, China’s Commander-in-Chief, issued an order requesting all Chinese generals and senior officers "to serve as the lowest-ranking soldiers for at least two weeks per year”. President Xi Jinping's objective is to ‘shake up the military and boost morale’. Some Chinese generals may have visited Arunachal during their 2-week 'duty'. Who knows?
The change of pattern in the intrusions is however of extremely serious concern, and resolute actions need to be taken at the earliest; even if the babus manage for some time to escape their shift on India's borders.

'It is time to wake up to Chinese incursions'
Rediff.com
March 04, 2008
Kiren Rijiju, the 36-year-old firebrand Member of Parliament representing Arunachal Pradesh (West), does not share the government's and Indian Army's perceptions about Chinese incursions in his border state.
While Defence Minister A K Antony and army chief General Deepak Kapoor have underplayed the intrusions on several occasions, Rijiju has tried to convey in Parliament the seriousness of the situation in the strategic state. Unfortunately till now his voice has been lost in the corridors of power.
Rijiju has pointed out for long that the Indian Army is not prepared for a conflict with China and today this is an accepted fact. The young MP still regrets that only cosmetic actions are being taken to correct this imbalance.
In this wide-ranging interview with Claude Arpi, the MP highlights not only the patriotism of the people of Arunachal, but also conveys in the strongest terms that it is time for India to wake up, to be self-confident and to stand by her interests and her borders.

Chinese intrusions have been denied by the army and the government, but you have repeatedly brought the matter to public notice. Could you tell us what is really happening?

In my constituency in Arunachal (West), there are many points where Chinese intrusions are happening. And it happens throughout the year. Since the 1962 war, the Government of India has not developed adequate infrastructure on the border. This has made access to the border very difficult from our side; while on the Chinese side, they have built infrastructure to facilitate movement of their army and people. Their side is far more accessible.
The Chinese (intrusions) are happening in a slow, creeping manner. Inch by inch, the Chinese station their army personnel and bring equipment.

Is it the army or grazers?

Grazers are basically a camouflage because the terrain is very difficult. I am speaking of areas from eastern Arunachal (Walong) to the western part (Tawang). The public (and the government) only know of Chinese incursions if it happens in known places like Tawang. When incidents happen in more remote places, it does not come to the notice of the general public. The army keeps it secret. They won't let the people know what actually happened.
In one place in Tawang district, some villagers were in possession of rice and grain supplied by the Chinese authorities. When these Monpa tribals were asked they took Chinese help, they answered: "Well, we have not been supplied with essential commodities from the Indian side. To survive we had no other choice but to accept what the Chinese offered." This shows that the government is not doing enough for the development of the border areas.
But the real issue is that India after 1962 adopted a secret policy not to develop the border areas. The idea behind it is that if we develop the border areas, the Chinese can easily use these facilities in the event of a war. It is a wrong policy. It means that we are in a defensive mode, we have no confidence in our army. This encourages the Chinese. We have to be confident in our own policies. Our demand has been that we should connect all the border areas right to the McMahon Line by a road network.

Do you think that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Arunachal, though he did not visit Tawang, opened the eyes of the government?

The government is now realising the hard realities, but it is still committing the same mistake. Why did the PM avoid Tawang? By not going, he has given some leverage to the Chinese who can say 'he has not gone to Tawang, because it is a disputed territory'. It is an acknowledgement that it is disputed, while in fact it is not. The PM's decision gives justification to Chinese claims and encourages them.
When they found out that the PM was going to Itanagar only, the Chinese knew that their pressure tactics had worked. Arunachal is the only issue which has a potential for conflict between India and China. If ever, India and China go to war one day, it will be on this issue.
Do not forget that Arunachal is (potentially) the richest state in India. About 30 percent of the power will come from Arunachal alone. Arunachal has petroleum; gas, minerals, and the largest forested area in India. Arunachal has great water resources. India is going to face a water shortage. Our state has a great potential, it is going to be the richest state in India in 15 years. The Chinese know this.

What if the Chinese divert the Brahmaputra river?

It will be only on the Siang (Brahmaputra) which represents only 25 percent of the waters of the state. Most of rivers flow from the Arunachal side of the McMahon Line which is the dividing line on the top of the ridge. All the rivers which originate from the Indian side flow towards India and cannot be diverted. Their flow increases in Arunachal.

The Chinese have built a new airport in Nyingtri district in Tibet, just north of the McMahon line.

This airport is very close to Arunachal. On the belt along the Brahmaputra (Tsangpo) river, towards Arunachal, particularly from Tsona (north of Tawang) to the Yunnan province (of China), the Chinese have built adequate infrastructure with many airports. Further, the Golmund-Lhasa railway line will be soon extended till Shigatse (Southern Tibet), it should be completed next year.

They announced it for 2010?

But Chinese are always able to complete their projects before schedule. They will reach Shigatse in 2009 and then, turn eastwards following the Tsangpo basin towards Tsona. Once it reaches Tsona, we will have a massive deployment of military hardware, right on the Arunachal border.
There is already a full deployment in Tibet, including nuclear weapons. In fact till 2005, they could not move heavy military equipment due to bad roads. The railway connectivity has dramatically changed the geopolitics of Tibet.
India's plan to counter this move is not enough. The recent package for a trans-Arunachal road which will cost Rs 6,000 crore or Rs 7,000 crore only connects the lower districts of Arunachal. Nowhere will this touch the McMahon Line.
I have written to the prime minister asking him to make sure that the road connectivity touches all the border areas. Otherwise, it will not serve the (defence) purpose. From the package announced by the prime minister, all border points will be five or six days by foot.
How can military personnel take care of our borders when they have to walk five or six days with arms and ammunition? I am honestly admitting that we are not prepared.

It was also admitted by A K Antony during a recent visit to Sikkim.

Yes, he admitted it and I have said it in Parliament for so many years. For years, the government denied it. Now they have accepted my point. The question remains 'What have you done so far (to solve it)?' I would like also to mention that the people of Arunachal are very patriotic; it is a positive point. It is the same thing in Ladakh and other hilly areas. We are honest, patriotic and nationalist people.
The Centre today undermines the peaceful nature of these people. It may be very explosive and costly for the country if this situation goes on and if the people of the Himalayas who act as sentries for the nation, are ignored.
The negative policy of the Centre should be reversed; the passive attitude should become active.

Is there some understanding in the government?

I am telling them: "Don't fear China, just do your job. Help the people of border areas with roads, schools, hospitals, telecom facilities." This is the solution. We do not want a war with China.
Arunachal should not be the bone of contention between India and China, it should be the bridge. We have five traditional border posts with China (Tibet), it should be reopened. There should be more people to people contact.

Some ten years back I visited Arunachal. At that time, there was talk of opening the Bumla Pass for trade. What is the position today?

Today there is a fear psychosis vis-a-vis China. India wants only sea trade with China. India thinks that if we have a land trade relations, Chinese goods will flood the Indian market. Look at Nathu-la (in Sikkim), it was opened two years back, nothing happened. We have to increase the volume of trade. Even in the case of Nathu-la, India curtailed the process by not putting in place adequate infrastructure.
On the Chinese side, there is good infrastructure, on our side, there is very little. It means that India is not interested in border trade. These are negative policies which have to be reversed.
The problem is that India is obsessed with America. All the brains of the ministry of external affairs and the think-thanks in India are obsessed with two countries only: The US and Pakistan. How many people know about China, whether it is in the defence or intelligence fields? India does not understand what China is.

Is this changing?

It is changing in rhetoric only, not substantially. I was accused of being obsessed with two countries only. Why should we pay so much attention to Pakistan, a small neighbour? Just forget it! We can just have normal relations with them. What is the point of spending so much time, energy and brains on (this country).
In India, all parties except the Communists are in favour of a strategic partnership with the US to contain China. It is fine, but on the other hand, we are not brave enough to tell China what are our sovereign rights. On one side we are appeasing China, on the other side we want to contain them. Our policy is without any clear direction.
Now, India speaks about 'looking east', for closer relations with other Asian countries, but we remain obsessed with the US. Our ties with the US should not hamper our relations with China.
If we don't know about our adversary, we can't face it. You have to know their strength, their weakness, their plans, if we don't know this, how can we deal with them?
Let us continue to have good relations with the US. But why be obsessed with them? While news in Washington or Lahore make headlines here, nobody knows about the border areas. Ask any Union minister or Member of Parliament, where is Tsona (the Chinese town/district headquarters north of Tawang), nobody knows.
We should realise that if we lose Arunachal, we can forget about Kashmir. Look at the map of Jammu and Kashmir. Half is not in our possession (Aksai Chin, Azad Kashmir, etc). Within the other half, half is Ladakh and one third Jammu. What is left is an 80 km valley between Anantnag and Baramulla. But this small territory (12 percent of the state), but it takes all the energies of the politicians and our resources. For, 60 years our minds have been devoted to this small area.
At the same time, it is very unfortunate that a state of 84,000 sq km with the potential to provide 30 percent of the nation's energy is today ignored. It is unfortunate and it frustrates our youth. Don't forget that Kashmir is claimed by a small country which does not economically or militarily match India, while Arunachal is claimed by a nation far superior to India.
It is time to wake up. Once you lose Arunachal, you can forget Kashmir. If Arunachal goes, the damage will be irreparable.
The people of India need to know the reality on the ground, they need to know China, the Himalayan region, the northeast and Arunachal. The rest of India does not pose any challenge for the nation. Unless we know what China is, India is not safe.

In India today, politicians and journalists seem confused. They don't understand the background of the border issue.

India says it has a problem constructing roads to the border, but in 1962, the Chinese manually built roads (in Arunachal). In three weeks, they built 30 km of roads south of the McMahon Line. The British left us with some roads and a railway network. We have not able to expand it after Independence. Take the railway line in Assam, it was there in the British times, nothing new has been built for 60 years. Same thing in Darjeeling, Simla or Ooty!
Today, we are not asking India to built railway lines at altitude of 15,000 feet like the Chinese have done (in Tibet), but at least they should do it to the altitude of 4,000 or 5,000 feet.
I am very disappointed with our successive Union governments. Any party that comes to power is a complete disaster for the Himalayan belt, especially for Arunachal.

I was told that if you make an ISD call from Tawang, the person who receives the call abroad sees the code of China on his phone. Can you confirm this?

It happens not only in Tawang, but also on the Bangladesh border, in Meghalaya. There you use the Bangladesh network, since BSNL is not there. The problem is that there are too many restrictions in India. It is what I call negative policies not to develop border areas. So there are no roads, no mobile phones, no televisions, no infrastructure. This is the mindset of our country.
On the Chinese side of the border you have this airport which will receive 5,000 tourists a day to visit the gorges of the Brahmaputra and on the Indian side you have a drastic 'Inner Line Permit system'. What are your comments?
We have too many restrictions, it is unnecessary. We should open up. It shows a lack of confidence.

Do you think that the young generation of parliamentarians or bureaucrats can change this mindset?

As a Member of Parliament, I have done enough, I have tried everything, but the response is not enough. Before I came to Parliament, my predecessors were silent. As you know Parliament is a very noisy place.
Usually people from the northeast are calm, gentle, but I am of a different breed. I speak, shout, come down to the well (of the House), I make my point. Now people know about Arunachal, but what the government does is another thing. They are too busy with political problems, which are not national problems. It is eating the mind of the leaders and the real issues remain unsolved, unattended.

Détente and Incursions

In February this year, Northeast Today reported a "spurt in Chinese Intrusions in Chaglagam".
The publication from Arunachal complained about India’s reluctance to upgrade its resources along the international border in Arunachal Pradesh, giving the 'glaring' example of the border demarcation along Indo-China border near Chaglagam outpost in Anjaw district. 
Northeast Today explains that: "due to lack of proper boundary demarcation, the Chinese Army often intrudes through two passes of Glai Takre and Hadira Takre which is about 100 km from last ITBP base camp situated at Chaglagam."
The article continues:

Anjaw Zilla Parishad Chairperson B Tega informed that the two passes are known as natural border between the two countries by the Mishmi community. He confirmed that, the Chinese Army often intrudes in the area and puts up unknown signs and symbols on stones and trees inside the Indian Territory. However, after the Chinese departure, Indian military patrolling team is quick to damage or erase the Chinese military marks and signs. He said that due to the lack of establishment of Indian military camp within the Indian Territory in the interior places, Chinese frequently conducts patrolling in Indian Territory.

The last ITBP post situated at Chaglagam is about 100 km away from LOC [LAC] The PR leader suggested that “the Indian government needs to establish military camp at Tanya, Pompom and Laitakru areas for security and easy monitoring of border areas”.  Meanwhile, Chaglagam ASM Mailu Tega said that “due to non availability of proper motorable road from Chaglagam to Glai Takre and Hadira Takre, the Indian patrolling team takes 4 to 5 days to reach the border, which she says, could pose a danger during emergency. She urged the government to widen the Chaglagam-Hayuliang road for transportation of military and other heavy vehicles.
Tega further sought Centre’s intervention for construction of road from Kibitho to Anini, Chaglagam to Desali (Lower Dibang Valley), Chaglagam to Glaitakre and Hadira Takre for the easy movement of the military. The Chinese government has connected its border area with highways. On the other hand, India is yet to make any roads leading to all border areas in Arunachal Pradesh even today. With Centre reluctant to step up infrastructure development at border areas, it is unlikely that such intrusions by Chinese Army would end over night. The ball off course is in the hands of the Centre and state government.

I wonder if the issue of infiltrations have been taken up with General Liang Guanglie, the Chinese Defence Minster during the latter's visit to Delhi.
It was probably not part of the PLA's diplomatic offensive, less than 2 months before the 'celebrations' (for the Chinese) of the 1962 War.
Another problem not mentioned by the Northeast Today's article is the infiltration between the main valleys, through less known passes. 
Of course, in these cases, the PLA will argue that it has nothing to do with the incursions, it is only Tibetan 'herders' who enter India's territory by 'mistake'.
Anyway, General Liang Guanglie most have had a jolly good time in India, if he tipped his IAF escort with one lakh of rupees!
This is called détente, (before the tough power struggle at the 18th Congress in Beijing next month).

Military ties for peace
China's Daily
2012-09-05
On Sunday, Liang Guanglie, Chinese state councilor and minister of defense, arrived in India for a five-day visit. He also has gone to Sri Lanka and will soon travel to Laos.
The same day, Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of the general staff of the People's Liberation Army, left Beijing for Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia and Singapore.
Then on Monday, Wu Shengli, PLA naval commander, started on a trip to Turkey and a deputy chief of staff of the PLA Navy arrived in Indonesia.
General Liang's current visit to India is the first a Chinese Defense Minister has made to that country in eight years. It remains unclear whether his talks with Indian officials will touch on a long-standing border dispute that is partially responsible for the neighbors' distrust of each other. Expectations are running high that the visit may lead to a new session of the "hand-in-hand" military drills that Indian and Chinese troops have conducted together. General Ma's delegation will hold consultations on security issues with Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore.
We have heard much lately about military options, and sensed veiled military threats in discussions concerning territorial disputes over the Huangyan and Diaoyu islands. And we have witnessed public indignation arise at home following provocations by foreign claimants and seen decision-makers come under greater pressure to get tough. But we have heard nothing that is provocative from our own defense authorities. That's why we wonder what the White House was thinking of when it once again admonished countries in the region to resolve their disputes without resorting to coercion.
Outsiders with ulterior motives dislike that the PLA has forged closer ties with other militaries in the region. But that is exactly what the PLA needs to do and should do more of.
These territorial disputes would not be threatening the entire region's safety had there not been instigations from outsiders.
The PLA now has the difficult responsibility of explaining its non-offensive strategy and need to expand, as well as show its willingness to work more closely with other militaries in the region. A greater amount of mutual confidence among militaries in the region will prove a fundamental guarantor of peace.
They have an obligation to show that countries in this part of the world are capable of solving their problems by themselves.
(China Daily 09/05/2012 page8)