Aiming without Arming

The Indian defence establishment has been talking about a grown assertiveness in its dealing with its giant neighbor in the East – China. Two separate developments earlier this month marked a sense of maturity in the defence outlook of India – the Special Representatives talks on the boundary issue with China and the largest edition of Milan naval exercise with 16 countries from the Indian Ocean Region and South China Sea.

On the face of it the two events look unrelated, but Indian Mandarins in the South Block seem to have taken a leaf out from the Chinese strategy of seeking a peaceful resolution of disputes while continuing to assert its might. India conducted war games with 16 countries including Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand – which are having disputes with China in the South China Sea region - in the Bay of Bengal from Feb 4-9. And then Indian National Security Advisor (NSA) met China’s State Councillor Yang Jiechi to decide to start dialogue on maritime security, an important aspect of Indo-China relations considering their rivalry vis-à-vis energy security.

File Photo of Exercise Milan

The only difference between the strategic maneuvering of the two countries is that China can actually back them up with firepower. India seems to be aiming virtually with no gun. The gap between the requirements of the Indian Armed Forces and the grant from the government is ever widening – as reflected in the recent budget. On the face of it, the defence budget has got a 10 percent hike. But probe a bit deeper, and it reflects an Indian defence establishment, known to have inertia to change; acquisition process takes decades, any force augmentations come after years, domination of reactive rather proactive approach towards bulwarking its defence and so forth and so on.

The announced Defence Budget for the year 2014-15 is 2.24 trillion rupees. The major reason for the enhanced budget is the increased pay and salaries of the three forces and the hiked revenue expenditure of the Indian Army, which is raising a Mountain Strike Corps along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) along China. However, the other requirements like getting new artillery guns have been hanging fire. And also the IAF had to bear a cut in relation to the current year.

Indian Defence Minister AK Antony dropped the bombshell at the flagship biennial Indian defence exhibition DefExpo-2014, that there was no money for the purchase of the 126 Medium Multi-Role Aircraft (MMRCA) for the Indian Air Force (IAF) – an acquisition that has the force has been awaiting for nearly a decade now and the delay has been keeping it from bidding adieu to all variants of the MiG-21s.

India has been trying to hide behind the comforts of its ‘superior’ navy with a greater experience of projecting force beyond its border. The Indian Navy officials have been boasting about the successful operation of a flat-deck carrier for decades. A claim which has been bolstered by the recent addition of Admiral Gorshkov, rechristened as INS Vikramaditya, in its fleet. The Chinese Navy that recently acquired Soviet-vintage aircraft carrier Varyag is already working towards acquiring second such warship. India presently has two aircraft carriers – one of which will be retiring soon and will be replaced by an indigenous one. And the Indian defence establishment instead of taking honing this indigenous capability further and sanctioning the construction of the second aircraft carrier is bidding time.

Another crunch staring the Indian Navy in face is the rapidly dwindling numbers of its submarines. The force has been left with only 14 conventional submarines in its flotilla and it is only after considerable delay that the government has decided to give its nod to the construction of six submarines under Project-75 I.

Another major project in limbo has been the construction of six strategic rail links along the LAC. The Indian Army had initially proposed construction of 14 strategic lines in Ladakh and North Eastern Regions. Out of this six lines were accorded top priority by the MoD. These lines will entail an estimated cost of Rs. 80,000 crore.

The rail lines are as such important to link the two regions with the country, however, the inaction on the part of the Indian government becomes more glaring as China has already laid down 10,000 km long rail network in Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). This has given China the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) the capability to mobilize 4,50,000 soldiers to the border in 30 days.  Some of the important railway projects in North East are Missamari (Assam) to Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh), North Lakhimpur (Assam) to Along (Arunachal Pradesh) and Murkongselek (Assam)-Pasighat (Arunachal Pradesh). Tawang is strategically important to India and is one region in the North east claimed by the Chinese. Inclement weather in the region makes it difficult to maintain supply routes. 

While the Defence Minister has received a pat on his back for managing to spend every penny of the defence budget during his tenure, the last year 2013-14 has been very lackluster on his resume.

China illegally claims 90,000 sq km land in Arunachal: Antony

A day before Chinese Defence Minister lands in the national capital, Defence Minister AK Antony laid bare the facts about infrastructure development and “illegal” territorial claims of Beijing along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

 

Assuring the Parliament that the Defence Ministry was seized of the matter, Antony said that China’s claim on north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh is illegal. “In the eastern sector, China illegally claims approximately 90,000 sq. km. of Indian territory in the State of Arunachal Pradesh,” Antony told the Parliament in a written reply. Earlier this year, China had refused visa to an Indian Air Force officer hailing from the state much to the chagrin of the South Block.

Besides this, the Defence Minister said that since 1962 China has been occupying nearly 38,000 sq kms of land in Jammu and Kashmir and under the “so called China-Pakistan ‘Boundary Agreement’ of 1963, Pakistan illegally ceded 5,180 sq kms of Indian territory in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir to China”.

India shares nearly 3,300 km of dispute boundary with China and both the countries had briefly fought a bloody war with each other in 1962. However, peace overtures in the recent years increased comfort between the two neighbors to a level where they could conduct joint military exercises. The bilateral defence ties were suspended in 2010 when China refused to give visa to an Indian Army commander posted in Kashmir.

The Defence Minister also informed the Parliament that India was monitoring the infrastructure development along the border and in PoK and has asked China to cease such activities. “Government is aware of the infrastructure development by China at the border and their undertaking infrastructure projects in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). Government has conveyed its concerns to China about their activities in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and asked them to cease such activities,” the Defence Minister said.

It is after eight years that a Chinese Defence Minister is coming to India. General Liang Guanglie will land in Delhi on Tuesday fresh from his visit to Sri Lanka, where Beijing has been taking a keen interest in developing ports much to the discomfort of India.

While the territorial border dispute is yet to reach any conclusion soon, both the sides will discuss resuming of joint military exercises. The two neighbours had their first bilateral exercise in 2007, when Indian Army troops visited Kunming in China.

Only woman officer in entire brigade guarding china front

By Mukesh Kaushik 

Nathu La (Indo-China border): In one of the most difficult Indian frontiers facing a formidable and assertive neighbour like China, she is the one and the only woman officer in the entire brigade at Nathu La, between India and China. She is the eyes and ears for hundreds of troops as provides them real time critical information.

Captain Swati Singh is posted in 63 Brigade of the Indian Army which is deployed in eastern sector in Sikkim near Nathu La pass overlooking China.   She is Signals incharge in the Brigade and her duty is to keep alive lines of communications for the troops posted in her area.

Captain Singh had chosen the military uniform over a very lucrative career in a multinational software company. “I was being offered a post of software engineer by Infosys, but in the meanwhile I cleared the exam of the services and without giving any second thought I opted for the later” she said proudly, in an interview to the correspondent.

She is the first generation military officer in her family of engineers. Her younger sister, an engineer like her, has opted for a private job in Larsen and Toubro. Captain Singh hails from Lucknow, a city of Nawabs from where she did her engineering in Babu Banarsi Das Institute of Technology. Her father, who works of the Central Water Board, inspired her to join the Indian Army, she said.

“I joined army two years ago and I was commissioned in 17^th Division in Sikkim. For the last one year I am in this brigade and despite being only woman officer I never felt alone or awkward here.” She said. Her Brigade Head Quarter is in Thegu near Nathu La and it takes at least five hours of bumpy motor ride to reach out to Gangtok. “Life is not easy in military but that is what I was fully aware of when I decided to join the army,” she said.

She adds, “Had I joined the Infosys, I may be serving in bustling and lively city like Bangalore but that would certainly not have given me the same kind of satisfaction I draw here while performing my duty in this inhospitable terrain.” Wishing that more and more girls should opt for joining Indian army she said, “Terrains or training may be difficult but our organisation is certainly very caring and friendly for the women officers.”   

(The correspondent was part of the official entourage of agency reporters taken to Nathu La as part of Independence Day Celebrations. Chinese Army officials had also joined the function.)

China reaches at India’s doorsteps with strategic rails

Even as Indian defence mandarins are tethering to give a go ahead to the construction of strategic railway lines at the Sino-Indian border, the dragon is working at a feverish pitch to get railway lines passing through Aksai Chin and lending right at India’s doorsteps.

When the Indian government is deliberating on the idea of who will finance the construction of 14 strategic railway lines in the inhospitable and inaccessible regions of Ladakh and North-eastern, China has started work on extending its railway line from Lhasa – the capital city of Tibet – to cities near the Sino-Indian border at a huge economic cost. Slicing through the geographical barriers, the railway line will cut the time taken for Chinese troop mobilization by half.

As per the intelligence gathered by the Indian armed forces the two lines connecting Lhasa to Yatung (a major trading town just about 30 kms from Sino-Indian border) and to Linzhi (about 70-80 kms from the border) will be complete by 2017. Yatung is situated at the mouth of the Chumbi valley and is connected to the Indian state of Sikkim via the Nathula pass.

“Work on two other proposed railway lines from Lhasa to Khasa near Nepal border and Kashghar in Aksai Chin will begin soon,” sources told The Sunday Standard. According to expert, this development will further tilt the strategic advantage in China’s favour as it gets cozy with the communist government of the Himalayan Kingdom of Nepal and strengthen its foothold in Aksai Chin, a territory claimed by India as its own.  The rail link to Khasa is likely to be aligned with the Friendship Highway from Shigatse to Khasa, and further till Kathmandu.

On the Indian side, the Finance Ministry is struggling to shell out Rs. 80,000 crore to construct six high priority strategic lines bordering China. 

Coupled with this, China has been sprucing its Western, Eastern and Central highways. The 1900 km long Western Highway goes from Lhasa to Aksai Chin after running parallel to Nepal Border. The Central Highway from Golmud to Lhasa and the Eastern Highway from Kunming to Lhasa is also being upgraded to make the mobilization faster.

“The completion of rail and road networks will help Chinese in using a combination of air-road and rail network to transport troops and material from the interiors to the border areas at a faster pace, raising concerns for India,” sources added.

While the red tape is stalling the growth of infrastructure on Indian side, the Army has taken possible measures to counter the strategic leverage gained by China. “For us mobilizing troops at a faster pace will be difficult owing to the sloppy infrastructure. Keeping this in view we are bolstering our presence in the forward areas by taking our men towards the border,” said Indian Army officials.

Economy slowdown hits strategic rail lines' construction

Economic downturn has hit the infrastructure-building along the Line-of-Actual Control (LAC) as the Finance Ministry has expressed its inability to spare Rs. 80,000 crore to construct six strategic railway lines in the regions bordering rising China.

Even as China had laid down 10,000 km long rail network in the adjacent Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), the “commercially non-viable” yet strategically important railway lines on the Indian side are founding no takers in the Railway Ministry or the Finance Ministry.

The Indian Army had proposed construction of 14 strategic lines in the Ladakh and north-eastern regions of the country- six of these lines have been accorded top most priority by the Ministry of Defence to bulwark Indian defences. “Six of these lines in the mountainous terrain will entail cost of Rs. 80,000 crore. The Railway Ministry has shown inability to spare that kind of amount for these commercially non-viable links. The Finance Ministry has also said that it cannot spare this much amount at the moment,” sources said, adding the economic slowdown has made the Ministry of Finance to postpone commitment to the construction of rail network in the border areas.

The delay in moving forward on these construction projects can cause India dearly as China is moving at a feverish pace on this front. The infrastructure development in the TAR region along the 4,057 km long Indo-Chinese border has given the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) the capability to move around 4,50,000 soldiers to the border within 30 days that will mean three Chinese soldiers for one Indian soldier.

The proposed Indian railway lines are aimed at quick troop mobilization and logistics sustenance if the rivalry around the unresolved Indo-China border. The Indian Army’s last hopes are now pinned on the Planning Commission to implement these projects at the earliest. Most of these projects are located in the North-East, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

Some of the important railway projects in North East are Missamari (Assam) to Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh), North Lakhimpur (Assam) to Along (Arunachal Pradesh) and Murkongselek (Assam)-Pasighat (Arunachal Pradesh). Tawang is strategically important to India and is one region in the North east claimed by the Chinese. Inclement weather in the region make it difficult to maintain supply routes.

In the north, the key rail projects are Jammu-Akhnoor-Poonch, Rishikesh-Karanprayag and Tanakpur-Bageshwar (Uttarakhand) besides others. The objective is to have all-weather connectivity and provide weapons, food and other essential items to forward posts.