It is a definite advantage for India. Yes, but the Chinese are still in control of vast areas of Indian Territory, including the 38,850 sq.km. Aksai Chin which China captured in 1962. In the east, China has claimed the whole of Arunachal Pradesh which it calls Southern Tibet. However, what has happened in the last 58 years is that China’s ambitions have been thoroughly exposed. China is facing growing isolation in the international arena. The US, France, Germany. Japan and Australia are on India’s side. If the navies of these countries together with the Indian navy mount a blockade at Malacca Strait, preventing egress and ingress of Chinese ships, the Chinese economy is likely to be in a serious crisis.
Already, banning of hundreds of Chinese apps is telling on Chinese economy. The impact will not be felt immediately but over time. Britain has announced it will ban the purchase of Huawei equipment for the 5G network. Thus, China has lost a lucrative business in UK. Similar banning of Chinese companies by other countries is likely.
The most significant thing is the change in Indian strategy which was revealed in eastern Ladakh on the night of 29-30 August and again on 31 August. For the first time, India resorted to “pre-emptive” strikes on the Chinese. A pre-emptive strike is one in which you attack the enemy before he attacks you. From a purely defensive strategy, India has gone on to an offensive strategy. This is a qualitative change that has come about in India’s strategic planning. There are press reports saying India had crossed the LAC and gone four kilometres inside China on 31 August to pre-empt an imminent Chinese attack for pushing the LAC further west and encroaching upon more Indian land.
China’s hunger for other countries’ land is reminiscent of Hitler’s Lebensraum or more land for the German people. China has claimed half of Tajikstan – a small Central Asian country with an area of 1,43,100 sq.kms. and a population of 91 lakhs. Even the tiny Brunei has not been spared. It has a population of 4.29 lakhs and an area of 5765 sq. kms. China claims part of land of Brunei. Incidentally, Tajikstan is already in a debt-trap to China. It owes China $1.2 billion which it cannot repay.
When these facts are borne in mind it becomes clear that even decades of talks and negotiations at diplomatic and military levels can never solve the Sino-Indian border problem. China will never vacate the Indian territory it has occupied. Rather it is trying to grab more and more. Its land hunger is insatiable. So, India may be left with the only option to drive out the Chinese. The Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat has recently stated that if talks fail then a military option is on the table to push back the Chinese transgressors. Should things come to such a pass, China will have to blame itself. It may find that there is only one country on its side – Pakistan.
The traumatic memory of India’s inglorious defeat at the hands of the Chinese in 1962 still haunts us. But, as far as India is concerned, the situation has undergone a sea-change since 1962. Recently, two studies by the Belfer Centre at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in Boston and the Centre for a New American Security in Washington (CNAS) came to the same conclusion that India maintains an edge over China in high altitude mountainous environments.
The CNAS study says: “India is by far the more experienced and battle-hardened party, having fought a series of limited and low-intensity conflicts in its recent past. The PLA, on the other hand, has not experienced the crucible of combat since its conflict with Vietnam in 1979.”
It may be recalled that the Chinese suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Vietnamese in 1979 and have never dared to trifle with its borders since then. In the past quarter of a century, Vietnam has come as close to India as it has distanced itself from China. Much to the annoyance and anger of China, India is strengthening Vietnam’s defences by giving it arms and ammunition like the lethal Brahmos missile.
Should China risk an all-out war with India, thinking that India is a militarily insignificant Power, all its calculations are likely to go haywire. Any full-scale military adventure against India will have global implications. (IPA Service)
INDIA FINALLY POSITIONS ITSELF IN ADVANTAGEOUS POSITION IN LADAKH
FOR THE FIRST TIME, DELHI RESORTED TO PREEMTIVE STRIKES IN CHINESE LAND
Barun Das Gupta - 2020-09-03 10:38
The situation in Ladakh which had reached a stalemate with troops from both sides digging in their heels in their respective positions, suddenly changed and changed for the better for India on the night of August 30-31. India outwitted and outmanoeuvred the Chinese by capturing three hill tops including Kalatop on the southern bank of the Pangong lake. The capturing of these mountain tops means the Indian army will now be able to maintain a round-the-clock vigil over the movement of Chinese troops and artillery including tanks on the other side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and destroy them whenever necessary. The Chinese are fuming with rage because they find themselves at a great disadvantage.